Auburn Eyes
by CommanderCorson
Summary: To say the version of MC in the base game is dense, would be one hell of an understatement. But what if that wasn't the case? What if he was a kind, understanding, and strong individual that would be worthy of the love and friendship of the Dokis? That is this story. MC cover sprite is by Cylent-Nite.
1. The Importance of Art

"You know, the doctor and the artist have much in common. The doctor tends to the weaknesses of the flesh, the infirmities of the mind. And artists, too, are healers. Their art is nourishment for the human soul. Without it, we wither and die."

Yuri sat in the packed hospital auditorium, listening intently to the lecture being delivered by Dr. Samuel Alexander on the interwoven nature of the arts and sciences.

"Yet the question remains, who's to heal the healers?" Dr. Alexander asked the crowd before him. "I suppose we have to look after each other."

As Dr. Alexander finished his lecture, the multitude of doctors, medical students, and art aficionados came to their feet and gave him a resounding round of applause. Yuri was startled by how quickly everyone around her stood to clap, but she hastily hopped to her feet to join in the praise being offered to the good doctor.

While Dr. Alexander bowed politely to the cheering of the masses, the director of the hospital walked on stage and shook his hand while addressing the auditorium. "I would like to thank Dr. Alexander once again for coming all the way from the United States to honor us with this wonderful lecture."

Dr. Alexander waved his hand dismissively at the praise. "Oh, no need for all that. I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I may as well stop by my old stomping grounds." Looking out over the crowd, the retired physician ran a hand through his white hair. "How about I take some questions before I head out?"

"Excellent!" The hospital director said as he happily clasped his hands together.

As the vast majority of the lecture attendees filtered out of the room, Yuri began to walk towards the auditorium stage. Rehearsing what she wanted to ask him in her head, Yuri looked back up to Dr. Alexander, who had already been surrounded by about a dozen or so people that were all fielding their questions to him.

"Dr. Alexander!" One young doctor shouted to get his attention. "Why did you shift your studies to art?"

"My personal interest was somewhat negligible in the beginning, I took up painting after I retired from surgery as a hobby, idle hands and all that." Dr. Alexander answered, looking at the back of his left hand. "But as I learned more about the mediums of art, I grew to appreciate the multitude of artistic expression amongst varying cultures, and how it reflects philosophical evolution. Art allows one to see the growth, perspective, observation, and interpretation of a people throughout time."

Another question came from the crowd as soon as the first was answered. "But Doctor, how exactly does art allow someone to see the growth of a culture?"

Dr. Alexander replied while turning to the provider of the next question. "Because of the socio-technological balance, my dear lad. All scientific advancement is due to intelligence overcoming and compensating for human limitations. Think of it this way..." He began as he started to pace back and forth slowly. "If you're unable to carry a load, you invent the wheel. If you can't catch food, you invent the spear. Without the limitations of the human body there would, in turn, be no advancement. Think of the difference in life between the Medieval age and that of the Renaissance, not just in the aspect of artwork, but that of everyday life as well. Thereby without advancement, culture would stagnate."

As people continued to go over to Dr. Alexander to ask questions, Yuri began to feel a bit apprehensive. She had wanted to speak to Dr. Alexander ever since she read his novel, but she couldn't bring herself to just walk up to him with all those people around to try and shout out a question above everyone else.

"What if I ask a stupid question...?" Yuri thought to herself. "What if everyone laughs at me...?"

Shifting in place slightly as she let people pass by her, Yuri checked the time on her phone, it was already a quarter to seven, and her curfew was at ten o'clock. Looking back up from her phone to Dr. Alexander, Yuri decided it would be best to just wait until everyone else had asked their questions. So Yuri put her phone back into her school bag, sat down, and waited.

...

"U-Um... Excuse m-me..." Yuri meekly called out as she neared the auditorium stage, getting Dr. Alexander's attention as he was preparing to leave the room.

Looking around briefly before spotting her and smiling, Dr. Alexander responded in a friendly voice. "Yes, young lady?" As he walked over to address the girl at the front of the stage, Dr. Alexander uttered out an apology. "I'm terribly sorry, I thought that everyone had left."

Finally close enough to get a good look at the girl without his glasses on, he noticed her uniform as he stopped at the stairs. "That uniform... You're not a resident of this hospital, are you?"

"N-No!" Yuri responded, more loudly than she intended. Embarrassed, she began to rub a few strands of her long, purple hair between her fingers. "No, I'm not... s-sorry..."

"Oh, fiddlesticks!" Dr. Alexander called out in an equally loud manner as he walked down the stairs of the stage. "There's nothing to apologize for. I'm just surprised a high schooler would spend her time after school listening to an old fuddy duddy like me."

"You're not a fuddy duddy!" Yuri said, again, far more loudly than she had wanted to. She was so nervous speaking to someone she admired that she was having difficulty controlling the volume of her voice. Self-conscious, Yuri turned her face to the side, as her cheeks began to go red.

Chuckling at her insistence that he was no fuddy duddy, Dr. Alexander attempted to calm her nerves. "There's no need to be nervous. What's your name?"

"...Yuri." She answered, looking at the good doctor out of the corner of her bangs, still feeling too embarrassed to face him.

"Very well then, Yuri." Dr. Alexander said. "Was there something you wanted to ask me?"

Yuri nodded her head as she reached into her school bag to slowly pull out a book. "I... um... I was hoping... that you could..." Yuri looked down to the cover of the book and breathed out in an effort to try and calm her nerves. "I was hoping that you could sign this!" Yuri blurted out quickly as she held the book out to Dr. Alexander, before pulling back slightly. "I-If you don't mind... that is..."

"Certainly!" Dr. Alexander responded as he gingerly accepted the book from Yuri's hands. He was curious what book of his a young girl would want him to sign, could it have been one of his medical dissertations, or perhaps his recent publication on the sociotechnologcial balance?

As Dr. Alexander looked down at the book in his hands, he was slightly taken aback. "Portrait of Markov." He quietly read aloud as he ran his hand over the cover of his first, and only, exploration into writing a piece in the realm of fiction.

Dr. Alexander smiled widely as he looked up from the book. "It would be my pleasure, Yuri."

Reaching into his jacket pocket to retrieve a pen, he noticed the time on his watch. "Oh my! It's nine o'clock already..." Furrowing his brow in thought for a moment as he uncapped the pen, Dr. Alexander asked a question of his own. "Did you wait this long just for an autograph? You could have come up and asked for it at any time."

"Oh!" Yuri blurted out. "W-Well I... I didn't want to interrupt..." She wrung her hands together nervously. "You just seemed like you had a r-rhythm going, and I didn't want to... throw you off course..."

"Ah, I see. Well, no matter." Dr. Alexander said as he turned his attention back towards the book in his hands. "But you know, I wouldn't have expected that a young lady such as yourself would enjoy my novel so much. It can be a bit gruesome at times."

"Well... the novel's setting is so unique and interesting. I just kind of... got engrossed in it." Yuri replied. "And I... well..." She trailed off before continuing. "Kind of... r-relate to the protagonist."

Nodding his head, Dr. Alexander could see the similarities between the girl in front of him and the girl that inhabited the world of the book in his hands.

As Dr. Alexander was about to begin writing in Yuri's copy of Portrait of Markov, he paused as he heard her start talking. "I've... always enjoyed writing... p-poems especially. B-But I wanted to try and write a story of my own." She paused, trying to work up the courage to ask the question that she had been rehearsing in her mind since his lecture concluded. "How... how do you write a good story?"

Dr. Alexander thought for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh, and Yuri felt anxiety rush over her. "Oh no... Oh no... Oh no, oh no, oh no..." She thought to herself. "I... I asked a stupid question... and now he... he probably thinks I'm... I'm..." Yuri gripped her forearm tightly as she felt shame wash over her.

"That's the best question I've heard all night!" Dr. Alexander shouted happily, snapping Yuri out of her feelings of worthlessness.

"H-Huh!? R-Really?!" Yuri asked excitedly.

"Yup!" Dr. Alexander replied simply. "You see Yuri, most people tend to focus on the what or why of something, especially in art. Such as why an artist created something, or what the intended message of a piece may be. When in reality there was no deeper message intended at all." Dr. Alexander held his finger out to the side in an instructive manner. "Art is all about the how, or better yet, the process." Bringing his hand back in front of him as he listed off factors of art, he continued. "Reasoning, the exploration of viewpoints, discovering complexity, comparing, connecting, observing, describing, questioning, and investigating. Those are the parts of art that are the most important, and make it such an integral aspect of human society. Asking someone why they created something or what their message is removes a bit of the luster, wouldn't you say?"

Yuri was so impressed by everything that Dr. Alexander had just said that she was taken aback, and she began to feel the confidence in her own writing abilities slip a little. "A-After hearing all of that... I don't know if... I could approach writing as well as you can..."

Bringing his hand to his chin and lowering Yuri's book to his side, Dr. Alexander thought for a moment before speaking. "Have you ever heard of an artist named Max Liebermann, Yuri?"

She only shook her head in response.

"Well he was a painter, and a talented one at that, he was actually the leading proponent of Impressionism in Germany." Dr. Alexander began before waving his hand dismissively. "That part doesn't matter at the moment, what's important is something that he said." He cleared his throat before stating the quote. "Whenever I see a Frans Hal I feel like painting, but when I see a Rembrandt I feel like giving up."

Yuri thought about the meaning of that quote to herself before offering her interpretation of it to Dr. Alexander. "So what you're saying is... take inspiration from the greats... but no matter how much of a difference in ability there seems to be... don't ever feel discouraged." She tilted her head to the side slightly, hoping she was close to the mark. "R-Right?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Dr. Alexander praised as he finally opened up Yuri's book again and finished writing his autograph.

Handing it back to her as he smiled. "Be sure to get home safe, Yuri."

"Y-Yes, doctor. You too." Yuri replied, she had to be quick if she was going to make it home before ten.

...

As Yuri walked out of the hospital entrance, she felt happier than she could ever recall. Pulling her copy of Portrait of Markov out from her school bag, she held it up in delight as she smiled to herself. "I did it!" She thought victoriously to herself. "I was actually able to do it!"

She excitedly opened up her copy of Dr. Alexander's novel and quietly read out his autograph. "Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor. Take these words to heart, Yuri, and may you find your muse. Sincerely, Samuel Alexander."

Smiling to herself as she closed the book and held it tightly to her chest, as she did so she could feel something nudge into her breasts. Moving the book away from her body, she noticed two pieces of paper poking out of the book's first few pages. Not wanting to simply pull them out and risk damaging her prized possession, Yuri opened to the page the paper was sitting in and her eyes lit up.

Resting on the first page of the second chapter were two tickets to Dr. Alexander's symposium on the transformative nature of art at the artist's guild that was closer to her home than the hospital was.

Delicately extracting the tickets, as if they were made of fine glass, Yuri was so happy that she could feel tears begin to well up in the sides of her lavender eyes. As she held the tickets in her hands, her cheerfulness was soon overtaken by feelings of shyness and anxiety.

Dr. Alexander had given her two tickets, two. She didn't know anyone that would be interested in going to an art gallery, let alone someone that would be willing to spend time with her there. But she didn't want to be rude to Dr. Alexander, this was a gift, and to just show up alone would mean wasting a ticket that he was kind enough to give to her.

As her tears of joy turned to those of sadness, she held the tickets in her quivering hands as she dejectedly asked herself a question. "Who'd ever want to go somewhere with me...?"


	2. Ohayou!

Sayori laid in her bed half-asleep as she heard the door to her room swing open with energy and flair. "Good morning, Sayori! It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood!" Shouted her best friend in the whole wide world, MC.

Seeing that his energetic greeting didn't rouse his best buddy, MC bent down slightly so that he was able to fit his muscular body through the doorway, the 185cm (6ft) goliath walked over to the side of Sayori's bed and knelt down next to her. Bringing his hand up to his chin, he stared directly at her as she laid on her side facing towards him.

"Hmm..." He sounded out as he continued to stare, causing Sayori's face to contort in amusement as she attempted to stifle her laughter.

"Oh, well!" MC eventually said as he shot back up to a standing position and began to walk back to the room's entrance. "I guess if I can't wake Sayori up early there won't be time for me to make her my special new breakfast item."

Shooting up out of bed in an instant, Sayori threw her covers off herself. "What?! Special?! New?!"

MC turned around nonchalantly. "Oh! Good morning, Sayori. How'd you sleep?"

"Never mind that!" She replied, nearly tripping over the blanket she threw on the floor as she walked towards him. "Do you have enough time to make breakfast?!"

Looking at the clock on Sayori's cluttered work desk, MC could see that they still had about an hour before they had to start walking to school. "Absolutely, Sayori! I don't even need ten minutes to whip this thing up."

"Yay!" Sayori shouted as she hopped up to hug him. "MC, you're the best!"

"Well, I'd wait until you at least know what I'm making before you say that." MC jokingly replied.

...

"So how come you're not wearing your uniform?" Sayori asked, entering the kitchen after she finished getting dressed, interlacing her hair through her large, red bow.

Turning his attention to Sayori after placing a lid on top of a hot frying pan, MC looked down at his sweat soaked clothes. "Oh, right. Sorry, I lost track of time so my morning run went a little long." Lowering the heat slightly on the oven burner and keeping track of the cook time in his head, MC leaned against the kitchen counter. "So I thought I may as well make you breakfast before I run over to take a shower."

Taking a bottle of out of the refrigerator and pouring herself a tall glass of apple juice, Sayori smiled. "So what are you making?"

"A soufflé." MC answered as he closed the refrigerator door for her.

"A sou-" Sayori furrowed her brow to try and remember what that was. "You mean that chocolate thing you made during our sleepover last week?"

"N-" MC began as he opened his mouth. "Well not exactly, that was a soufflé and so is this. But a soufflé can be pretty much whatever you want as long as you get the proper structural integrity by adding egg yolks to beaten egg whites."

Seeing that it was far too early for Sayori to understand all of what he was saying, MC rephrased his statement. "It's like how there are many different types of soup, think of it like that."

"Oh~" Sayori replied, a big smile gracing her face while she sat down at the breakfast table. "I get it now." Making a face like she suddenly made a great realization, she asked another question. "Hey... do you eat soup or drink it?"

"Depends on whether you use a spoon or not." MC answered, removing the lid of the frying pan and placing the contents onto a plate.

"Voilà!" MC shouted with a flourish as he laid the plate down in front of Sayori.

"Wow~" Sayori breathed out in awe at the breakfast before her, picking up her spoon she gently patted the large yellow half-circle before her. "It's bouncy!" She giggled.

"Exactly!" MC said with a flair. "That's the omelet soufflé!"

Cutting into it with the side of her spoon and taking a bite, Sayori held her cheek as the fluffy egg practically melted in her mouth. "Yummy~"

"Thank you, Sayori." MC proudly said, seeing that she was enjoying his dish as she continued eating.

With a mouth full of omelet, Sayori turned up from her breakfast and towards MC. "How'd you making this so fast?"

"They don't really take too long once you know how to make them." MC said, as he began washing the frying pan in the sink. "All you need to do for one that size is separate the yolks of three eggs, beat them slightly, then season them a bit with salt and pepper." Having finished scrubbing the frying pan, MC began drying it with a dish towel. "Then you need to beat the whites into almost a meringue and fold that into the yolks. After that, all you need to do is put in any filling you want and then cook it for about three minutes, and then you're golden." Putting the dried frying pan back into the cupboard, MC turned back around. "Oh, and I put cheddar and chives in there."

As long as it took him to explain his recipe and clean up after himself, Sayori had already finished her omelet. "Wow, a lot really goes into cooking something tasty." She praised.

"Well, I was happy to make it for you." MC smiled. "Someone has to make sure you're eating relatively healthy, after all."

"Hey! I'm skinny, see?!" Sayori protested as she stood up and twirled around.

"That's just because you've got a lightning fast metabolism." MC pointed out while washing and drying Sayori's plate. "And besides, that's not my point, you need the proper nutrition, vitamins, and minerals that your constant snacking can't provide."

"Fine, fine." Sayori said as she gave up her argument in the face of MC's clear concern for her. "But I'm happy we get to spend so much time together."

"Me too, Sayori. I'm gla-" MC's train of thought was interrupted as he caught a glance of the oven's clock. "Oh, no!" He shouted as he brought his hands up to his cheeks. "There's only thirty minutes left until we have to head out!"

"That should be plenty of time." Sayori pointed out as she sipped her apple juice.

"For you, maybe!" MC countered. "I still need to shave, shower, get dressed, and make myself breakfast."

"Geez, MC. You're such an airhead." Sayori playfully teased. "Honestly, you're even worse than me sometimes... I'm impressed!"

"Oh?" Slowly turning his head towards her, MC walked over, placed his hands beneath her arms, and picked Sayori right up with ease.

"Hey!" She yelled. "Put me down, you know I hate heights!"

"What was that?!" MC loudly asked. "You're too high up, I can't hear you!"

"Stooooop it!" She cried out as she started flailing around in his arms to no avail, he was far too strong for her to break free. "We're gonna be late!"

"Alright... fine." MC gave in as he began to lower Sayori back to the ground. But before her feet touched the floor, he brought her in for a hug and rubbed their cheeks together.

"Eww!" Sayori groaned. "MC, you're all sticky!"

Simply shrugging his shoulders with a blank look on his face, MC spun around and ran out of Sayori's house.

"I'll get you back for that!" Sayori yelled after him.

...

As Sayori walked back upstairs to the bathroom across from her room, she was able to see MC jogging to his house from the hall window. The sight of him made her smile as she held her cheek. "Maybe... maybe I won't wash this cheek today..." She whispered to herself.

Entering her bathroom, she grabbed her toothbrush and squeezed out a big glob of toothpaste on top of the bristles. Lifting the toothbrush up, she looked at herself in the mirror and stared into her blank, blue eyes.

Letting her shoulders slump as her mask fell away, she continued to gaze at who she really was.

...

After stopping by his home to prepare for school, MC still had about five minutes to spare before the two of them had to leave. Waiting for Sayori outside her front door, MC was looking at the flowers around her house. "These need watering." He muttered to himself.

Spotting the garden hose not too far from where he was kneeling, MC placed his school bag down and turned on the faucet.

As he thoroughly doused the plants, Sayori came thundering out of her house. "Heeeeeeeyyy!" She yelled, full of vim and vigor.

"Yo!" MC waved as he turned the faucet off and allowed the hose to drain all of its remaining water out onto a bush. "Ready to go?"

"Yup!" Sayori cheerfully responded as MC picked up his school bag. Beginning their daily commute to school.

...

As they walked to school, the two friends talked about all sorts of nonsense, from things they saw on the internet to ridiculous hypotheticals.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Sayori. "Oh! You watering my plants reminded me of something, MC."

"It reminded you to thank me for keeping the front of your house presentable?" MC teased.

"Well... no. I mean... yes..." Sayori got a bit flustered. "Uwa! You know what I mean!"

MC chuckled as she puffed her cheeks out. "What I wanted to say, MC. Was if you decided on a club to join yet?"

MC shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. I mean, I've been looking around since the Gardening Club got disbanded. But none of them really interested me."

"Really? That's a shame." Sayori said as they both waited at the crosswalk for the light to turn green.

Looking down at her shoes, then sliding her foot next to MC's to take in the massive size difference between the two of them, she looked up to him as she got his attention. "Yes, Sayori?" He asked.

"Thanks for waking me up everyday." She beamed at him.

Smiling back at her. "You're welcome, Sayori. I'm happy to do it, it's probably one of my favorite parts of the day, in all honesty."

Blushing slightly as she looked away from him. "And you even wait for me after school, even though you don't have a club to go to."

"True." He replied. "But just because the Gardening Club is gone doesn't mean I can't take care of the plants at school during my free time." Putting a massive hand on her shoulder as she looked back up at him. "Besides, I really do love spending time with you. And I wouldn't miss our walks home for anything."

Looking up at MC as a gentle breeze blew through her hair, Sayori could feel her heart pitter patter. "MC... I..."

Seeing that the light had turned green for pedestrians, MC pat Sayori on the back and pointed at the light to draw her attention to it.

"Oh!" She called out. "R-Right..."

As they drew closer to the school after crossing the street together, the sidewalks became increasingly speckled with other students making their daily commute.

"Hey, hey! I've got an idea, MC!" Sayori suddenly called out.

"What is it?"

"Since you wait for me after school anyway, I was thinking, you know..." Her voice began to trail off a bit.

"Know what, Sayori?" MC asked as he leaned down to try and hear what she was saying.

"Well, that you could come to my club!"

"Sure." MC simply replied.

"C'mon, ple-" Sayori stopped abruptly as if she suddenly just realized what MC had just said. "Wait... huh?!"

"I'd love to join your club, Sayori." Gazing at her with an incredulous look. "Why are you so surprised?"

"Well I... I mean it's not gardening or cooking or boxing or... or..." The look of disbelief was soon replaced with one of pure joy. "I just never thought you'd want to join the Literature Club."

"I mean, I'll be honest." MC said as he scratched his chin. "I've never even attempted any type of creative writing that wasn't part of an assignment for a class."

"So then why..." She began to ask.

"Because you'll be there, why else?" MC interrupted with a smile.

Holding the sides of her face as it turned more red than her bow, all that Sayori could manage as a response was, "Ehehe~"

...

The school bell rang out, signaling that half of the day's classes had concluded and that it was now the student's lunchtime.

As she was packing up her class materials, Yuri could overhear her classmates discussing their lunch plans.

"Hey, would you like to have lunch together?" One student asked a friend of theirs.

"Sure!" Another happily replied. "We can talk about the latest episode of Terrace House."

As Yuri stood up to walk out of the classroom, she heard a group of three girls start to talk about her before she had the chance to leave.

"Hey Miyuki, check it out." A tan girl called out to her friend as she pointed at Yuri. "I wonder where she's going."

Snickering, Miyuki responded as she twirled a finger through her hair. "Who cares? So long as we don't have to look at her sulk while we're eating."

Feeling herself tense up at the doorway, Yuri walked out into the hallway as other students were filtering from classroom to classroom to eat with their friends.

As she walked down the stairs to the ground floor, she continued to hear people talk about her.

"There's that spooky girl again." One girl pointed out to a friend.

"Damn, look at the size of that girl's tits." One boy said as he nudged his friends. "I'd give my left nut for a night with her."

At every word, Yuri felt more and more anxious, just wanting to curl up into a ball and hide behind the long, purple curtain of her hair. But in just a few more minutes, she'd be free of everyone else's voices and she could be at peace.

As she neared the school's entrance, she overheard a teacher whisper to another faculty member. "The poor dear, she must not have many friends."

Feeling her stomach knot up, she quickly walked through the door and towards her sanctuary, the school garden.

Sitting down on a bench among the flowers and plants, Yuri let out the breath she was holding since she left her classroom.

"I made it." She proudly said to herself as she opened up her school bag to get her lunch. Placing her bento box next to her on the bench and going to retrieve the book she was currently reading, her hand brushed by something she didn't recognize in her bag.

Gripping it and pulling it out, it was the two tickets to Dr. Alexander's art symposium. "I must have forgotten to take them out of my bag last night." Yuri thought to herself as she held them on her lap.

Looking at the two tickets, she thought about what she overheard that teacher say. Feeling herself begin to tear up, she tried to steady her breathing, but it didn't work. As she held the tickets tightly in one hand while she brought the other one up to her face.

She tried talking to herself in an attempt to calm down, as she brought the hand holding Dr. Alexander's tickets up to her chest. "I-I... I'd... I'd be..." Yuri could feel hot tears run over the hand she brought up to her face. "I'd be happy with just... just one friend..."

Her eyes blurry from all of her tears, she heard footsteps nearby. Gasping, Yuri quickly wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I can't... I can't let anyone see me like this."

Hearing the footsteps get closer and closer, Yuri rubbed her eyes harder. "Please... just leave me alone." She plead in her mind, not wanting anyone to go around telling the whole school that she was crying by herself.

The sound of the footsteps ceased, and Yuri let out a sigh of relief. As she lowered her arm to allow her tears to continue to flow. But as she raised her head, she saw a small white square in a large hand.

"H-Huh?" Yuri looked at the corner of what she could now see was a handkerchief, she had to squint slightly to make out the embroidery, but she could read the initials on it. "MC...?"

Realizing that someone was standing right in front of her, Yuri traced the hand back to its source, her eyes running up a muscular arm that belonged to a very tall boy in a tank top.

Yuri's teary lavender eyes meeting his compassionate auburn ones, the boy standing in front of her smiled empathetically. "Good morning."


	3. The Language of Kindness

Yuri sat, staring up with watery eyes at the boy standing before her. The moment of surprise from his presence passing, she quickly lowered her head back down to hide her disheveled state.

While she held her head down, Yuri heard the boy begin to speak. "Are you okay?"

As she opened her mouth to make an attempt to address him, Yuri found it even more difficult to speak to someone than usual. With her words caught in her throat, Yuri simply nodded in the affirmative.

Out from under her bangs, Yuri could see the boy kneel down beside her. Her hands had been quivering since she began crying, and despite her best efforts to hold them in place and not seem like she was falling apart in front of a stranger, she was failing.

As teardrops fell on her shaking hands, Yuri's vision was once again filled with the sight of a pure white piece of cloth. "Here." The boy offered. "This is the least I can do."

Unable to look at him directly, Yuri shook her head vigorously as she finally found the strength to speak.. "B-But... I couldn't... a-accept... such a... clean..." She was close to hyperventilating, having difficulty uttering more than a single word between breathes.

Closing her eyes while her breathing continued to hasten and her tears still flowed, despite her best efforts to stymie them. Yuri felt something make contact with her left cheek while raising her head up delicately.

As Yuri's eyes opened, she was greeted by a kind, warm smile as she looked into caring eyes.

While they continued to stare into each other's eyes, the boy tenderly brought his handkerchief up to her face and wiped away the tears pooling below her right eye. As he moved over to her left, Yuri couldn't do anything besides look at the kind person in front of her. His hand was a bit rugged, but he was so gentle and his hand felt so warm against her cool cheek that Yuri didn't have the slightest desire to pull her face away from his hands.

After he had finished wiping away Yuri's tears and pulled his hands back, the boy smiled brightly at her. Yuri looked off to the side out of embarrassment while sneaking the occasional glance at him.

"Here. Please, take it." The boy offered as he held the slightly damp handkerchief towards Yuri.

Yuri looked away from him completely this time. "I-I... couldn't... possibly..."

Still holding his handkerchief out towards her, his sympathetic smile didn't falter for a moment as he put the embroidered piece of cloth in her hands. "A handkerchief that goes unused is a thing to be mourned. Especially one that is not allowed to dry one's tears."

Feeling her grip tighten around the soft fabric in between her slender fingers, Yuri turned back towards him while looking down slightly. "Th-Thank you... very much..."

The boy stood back up. "Think nothing of it." Dusting his pant leg off from kneeling down, he continued. "Would you like me to walk you to the guidance counselor's office?"

"O-Oh..." Yuri patted her face with the handkerchief she was given. "N-No, thank you."

"Are you sure? It's no problem."

"Y-Yes..." Yuri paused as she thought of some sort of excuse to give to the boy that was so kindly showing concern for her. "It's just... It's just allergies."

Yuri could feel that her lie was easily detected by him. "Ah, I see." She heard him say. "If that's the case, then I hope you feel better soon."

"Th-Thank you..." Yuri's gratitude was both for his well wishes, as well as for the consideration he had for not pressing her on such an obvious fabrication.

"You're very welcome." He replied, and as he opened his mouth to say something else, the sound of a text message being received broke his train of thought. Noticing Yuri's bento box sitting next to her, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh! It seems like I lost track of time again today." Laughing to himself, he turned back towards Yuri. "I'm sorry, but I have to go." Nodding to Yuri politely, he smiled. "Enjoy your lunch, and have a lovely day."

"Y-You too." Yuri nodded back to him. "Th-Thank you."

As the boy turned to take his leave, Yuri looked back down at the handkerchief in her hands. "MC..." Bringing her head back up to ask him a question. "E-Excuse me..." But by the time she called out to him, he was already out of earshot.

"Oh..." Yuri gently muttered to herself, she was curious what the compassionate boy's name was. Considering the time, she wouldn't have a chance to read if she was going to finish her lunch before getting to her next class. So she put her book back into her school bag, but as she did, the two tickets to Dr. Alexander's art symposium fell onto her lap.

Lifting up the two tickets in her right hand, while her left still contained the boy's handkerchief. Yuri looked at the items she held, as a light blush graced her cheeks.

...

Having finished her lunch, Yuri quickly made her way to her next class, home economics.

Entering the room, she saw that the only station that had a vacant seat was the one with... Natsuki. This didn't really surprise Yuri, since Natsuki could be a bit confrontational at times, but Yuri had always arrived early in this class to avoid having to ask someone if she could sit with them, but she didn't exactly have a choice now.

Walking over to her short, pink haired classmate, Yuri gulped nervously. "Umm... N-Natsuki, c-can I..."

Natsuki turned her head at the mention of her name. "Oh hey, Yuri. What's up?"

"Can I... sit w-with you... please?"

Natsuki was slightly taken aback, they usually didn't interact much outside the Literature Club, but when she noticed that all the other seats in the class were taken, she patted the seat next to her in an inviting manner. "Sure thing, Yuri."

"Th-Thank you, Natsuki." Yuri said as she hung her school bag on the hook on her side of the table and sat down.

Natsuki hopped up from her seat. "No problem, and since you're here you can help me make the cupcakes for today."

Turning around in her seat to see where Natsuki was going, with visible confusion on her face. "Cupcakes? Is that today's a-assignment?"

"Nope!" Natsuki answered as she knelt down and pulled out a cupcake baking pan from the storage area that held all of the cookware that was to be used in class. "Before you came in the teacher told us that it's a free day." Standing back up, Natsuki walked over to where Yuri was sitting and placed the tray on their workstation. "Which works out since I promised Sayori I'd bake some cupcakes for the new member she's bringing today."

"N-New member?!" Yuri blurted out with surprise. "I-I don't recall her mentioning anything about that."

"Oh, right." Natsuki said as she went and grabbed an apron off the rack on the back wall. "After club yesterday she kinda ambushed me in the hall when she was waiting for some guy to come and walk her home." Putting her head through the top loop of the apron and beginning to tie the back knot, she continued. "Apparently, she ran it by Monika and got the okay. No idea who she's bringing though."

"O-Oh..." Yuri replied. "C-Can I help?"

Natsuki turned around as she went over to get some items off the ingredient wall. "With what?"

"B-Bake... I mean..." Yuri answered.

"Oh! Sure thing!" Natsuki happily said as she turned back around and got a bag of flour, and something else Yuri couldn't quite make out, off of the shelf. "Can you set the oven to 190 degrees (375°F) for me?"

"Okay." Yuri said as she input the designated temperature into the oven. "Is there... umm... A-Anything else...?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna make some cake flour." Natsuki answered as she opened the bag of flour and began to scoop out the contents with a measuring cup. "Can you grab me the wet ingredients while I'm doing that?"

Yuri merely nodded in response, causing Natsuki to smile. "I'll need butter, eggs, and milk. And thanks by the way."

"Sure..." Yuri replied as she began walking over to the refrigerator.

Natsuki then wagged her finger as she remembered something else she needed. "Oh! And I'll need salt and granulated sugar too." She said, mostly to herself, as she hopped over to the wall of dry ingredients again.

As Yuri picked up the milk and container of butter, she closed the refrigerator door and went back over to their workstation. Deciding it was better to not try and bring everything over in one trip and risk dropping everything.

Placing everything down, Yuri was surprised by how much Natsuki brought over to their station. "W-Wow... That's a lot of ingredients."

Looking over to Yuri as she was removing some flour from a bowl with a tablespoon, Natsuki shrugged her shoulders. "I guess, but if you're making them from scratch you need a lot of stuff if you want them to be halfway decent."

Yuri and the rest of the Literature Club have enjoyed Natsuki's pastures before, and they were certainly better than just halfway decent. Thinking of Dr. Alexander's advice of not being able to remake oneself without suffering, Yuri decided to try and speak her mind. "I-I..."

Natsuki turned her head towards Yuri as she was opening a cylinder of baking powder. "I think... your cupcakes are more than just... d-decent, they're g-good."

"Wow~" Natsuki said with a quiet whistle. "A compliment from you, Yuri? That's a surprise, you must be having quite the day."

Thinking back on it, despite how sad she had felt in the garden, that very nice boy had made her feel really happy with how compassionate he had been. Smiling with a small blush on her face, Yuri began kneading a few strands of her long hair through her fingers. "W-Well... this boy..."

The second she heard the word "boy", Natsuki dropped her measuring utensils and spun around towards Yuri with a big smile on her face. "Ooh~" Natsuki then closed the distance between the two of them. "I need to hear this!"

"H-Huh?! W-W-Why?!" Yuri asked, surprised by Natsuki's interest in the topic.

"What'd you mean why?" Natsuki balked. "I never expected you of all people to be all happy when talking about a boy."

"I-I'm not!" Yuri shot back, bringing her hands up to her chest.

Pointing at her face, Natsuki grinned. "Oh my God, look at your face! You're all red!"

Pressing her hands up to her face, Yuri could feel how hot her face was. "T-That's b-because..." Yuri quickly looked around the room for something to use as an excuse for her state of embarrassment. "T-The oven! I'm t-too close to the oven, that's why I'm all r-red."

Making a smug face as she leaned on the top of their workstation, Natsuki chuckled. "Whatever you say, Yuri."

"I-I'll get the eggs... and c-cool off near the r-refrigerator!" Yuri said, a bit louder than necessary.

Opening the door of the fridge, Yuri groaned slightly from Natsuki's teasing. But as she grabbed the eggs, she thought of that boy again, and those feelings were replaced with happy ones as she felt herself cool down a bit from her proximity to the fridge.

Returning to their station, and wanting to immediately change the subject when she got there, Yuri looked at the bowl Natsuki was scooping some sort of powder into. "S-So what are you doing?"

Seeing right through her attempt to change what they were talking about, Natsuki decided to play along and tease her about this boy later. "Oh this? Like I said, I'm making cake flour."

"Cake flour?" Yuri questioned.

"Yup!" Natsuki said as she continued scooping contents into the bowl. "It makes cupcakes and other baked stuff a lot tastier. You make it by removing two tablespoons from every cup of flour you have, and then adding two tablespoons of cornstarch to the mixture."

Yuri was impressed. "W-Wow... I never knew so much went into baking."

Natsuki puffed her chest out confidently. "That's what it means to be a pro!" Placing the container of cornstarch down, Natsuki picked up the bag of granulated sugar. "Now let's get to baking!"

...

"And... done!" Natsuki proudly said as she finished piping vanilla icing onto the twelfth and final cupcake.

Clapping her hands together as she watched Natsuki complete her confectionary delights, Yuri was quite impressed. "They look w-wonderful, Natsuki."

Natsuki smiled from ear to ear. "Thanks, Yuri!" She looked at the clock and saw that there was still about ten minutes left before class ended. "Is there anything you want to make?"

"M-Me?" Yuri asked, surprised by the question.

"Yeah!" Natsuki replied as she began placing the cupcakes into a tray. "You were a big help, and I don't just mean that because you can reach the top shelf. So if you'd like to make something I can help."

Smiling from Natsuki's kind offer, Yuri shook her head. "N-No thank you, I... have something I'd like to do with the remaining t-time."

"Suit yourself." Natsuki said, as she ripped off a piece of aluminum foil to go over the tray of cupcakes.

"O-Okay." Yuri responded. "I'll s-see you later at club today."

"Later." Natsuki warmly responded with a wave.

As Yuri walked over to the sinks in the corner of the room, Natsuki looked over her cupcakes and thought they looked a little plain, being completely white and all.

Looking over to the ingredients shelf, she saw several bars of chocolate and was struck by inspiration.

...

Reaching the sinks of the home economics room, Yuri pulled the handkerchief she was given from the pocket of her blazer. There was a washer and dryer in the room, but Yuri didn't want to use them for such a small piece of fabric. She would do it by hand and let it air dry.

Holding it in her hands, she could feel that it was still slightly damp from when it was used to dry her tears. Thinking of the occasion made Yuri blush again, but as she was reminded of Natsuki's teasing she shook the thought from her head and turned on the water.

Grabbing a pair of rubber gloves from the drawer beside her, Yuri went to work cleaning the handkerchief of the kind hearted boy that she found herself thinking about more and more.

...

As the school day came to an end, MC began packing up all of his class materials into his bag. Seeing that everyone else in class was leaving the room to either walk home or go to engage in their respective after school activities, he decided to wait for Sayori in the hall.

As MC neared the doorway, Sayori suddenly jumped out in front of him. "BOO!" She yelled, resulting in MC flinching slightly.

Seeing that her attempt to startle her friend was successful, Sayori smiled widely. "I got you! You're a scaredy cat, MC!" Brimming with confidence, she continued to tease him. "I told you I'd get you back for sweating all over me this morning!"

Realizing what that last comment sounds like out of context, Sayori looked around rapidly to make sure no one was around to hear that last part.

MC chuckled as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Don't laugh, MC!" Sayori said as she became flustered by what she had just said. "Y-You know what I meant..." Sayori looked off to the side in embarrassment as she puffed out her cheeks at him.

"Yeah, I suppose I do." MC said as he lifted himself off the doorframe. "Ready to show me to your club?"

"Yup!" Sayori beamed. "I've been looking forward to this all day, I can't wait for you to meet everyone!"

Sayori looked as if an idea had just entered her head. "In fact..." She started jogging in place. "I'm gonna race you there!" She yelled as she took off in the direction of the stairway.

MC just stood where he was as he watched Sayori sprint down the hall.

After about a minute of waiting, Sayori meekly walked back to MC and gently poked him in the arm while she looked down out of embarrassment.

"I... umm..." She began, eventually looking back up at him and rubbing the back of her neck. "I... just remembered that you don't know where the club is. Ehehe~"

Smiling at his friend's antics, MC patted her on the back in a reassuring manner. "Don't worry Sayori, we can race each other some other day after I know where the clubroom is."

Still a bit red-faced from her mistake, Sayori just looked up to her friend. "Thanks, MC."


	4. Welcome To The Literature Club

Yuri sat alone in the classroom the Literature Club met in each day after school. She was always the first one to the club room, passing the time by reading more of whatever novel she was currently partaking in until the other members arrived and club activities began.

Finding herself more and more drawn into the imaginative world of the story she was engrossed in, Yuri jumped in her seat as she heard the classroom door slide open with a loud bang.

"Yo!" Natsuki said with a wave, as she started walking over to where Yuri was seated.

"H-Hello..." Yuri replied, holding her book up to her chest, still slightly taken aback by the manner in which Natsuki entered the room.

"So!" Natsuki began as she stopped in front of Yuri's desk, pulled a chair over, plopped down, and rested her elbow on the desk they were now both sharing. "We didn't get a chance to finish our conversation before home ec ended."

"O-Oh..." Yuri stammered out in response. Still holding her book up as if to shield herself from whatever Natsuki was planning to ask.

Natsuki leaned forward as she rested her chin in her hand. "So tell me about this guy."

"H-Huh?!" Yuri blurted out loudly, raising her book until it rested just above her nose, her lavender eyes being all that Natsuki could see of her face. "W-W-Why...?

"Because I'm curious!" Natsuki said, leaning forward again as she clutched both sides of the desk in her hands. "For as long as I've known you, you've never talked about boys once!" Leaning back in her seat to give Yuri some space, Natsuki held her hands up in a pleading manner. "Come on, I just gotta know. Please?"

Thinking to herself for a moment before she lowered her book until it only just covered her chin, a small smile appeared on Yuri's face. "W-Well... I suppose... I suppose it couldn't h-hurt..."

Grinning widely as she adjusted herself in her chair, Natsuki gave Yuri her undivided attention.

Closing her novel with the bookmark tucked inside, Yuri placed it on the desk as she wrung her hands together nervously. "H-He was... He was very kind."

"Yeah, yeah. What else?" Natsuki said, clearly very excited.

"He... Um... He lent me his handkerchief..." Yuri replied, pulling the object in question out of her blazer pocket. Smiling to herself as she looked at his embroidered initials.

"Enough of all that." Natsuki interrupted with a wave of her hand. "Tell me about all the juicy stuff, like what does he look like?"

"Wha- What?!" Yuri yelled as she brought her hands up to her chest in surprise.

Noticing that she was still holding the boy's handkerchief, she loosened her grip a bit and placed the piece of white fabric down on the desk in order to smooth out any potential wrinkles she may have caused by scrunching it.

As Yuri was preoccupied with the handkerchief, Natsuki continued her interrogation. "Come on, Yuri. You must have gotten a good look at him."

"I guess..." Yuri said, still looking down at the white square on the desk, having finished flattening it out.

Seeing that she wasn't going to tell her anything at this rate, Natsuki thought for a moment before thinking of a way to get the information out of Yuri. "I got it!" Natsuki said, causing Yuri to looked up slightly. "I don't remember you mentioning this guy's name. You don't know it, right?"

Yuri stayed quiet as she looked back down at the desk and frowned.

"Oh, um..." Natsuki hadn't expected Yuri to be so sad about that fact, so she cleared her throat and continued. "Well... maybe I know him! If you describe him, maybe I'll know who you're talking about."

Quickly bringing her head up and looking Natsuki directly in the eyes, Yuri smiled with excitement written all over her face. "Really?!"

Slightly startled by Yuri's sudden burst of energy, Natsuki crossed her arms. "Y-Yeah, of course. So let me hear the goods."

"Okay!" Yuri replied, still a bit excited at the prospect of discovering this compassionate stranger's identity. Feeling herself blush as she looked away from Natsuki and towards the windows, Yuri thought back to the boy's appearance. "His eyes were a very pretty shade of brown." Yuri paused for a moment to think of the name for the exact shade. "Auburn, perhaps."

Natsuki was happy to see that Yuri was so excited to talk about something that didn't involve books or tea, but eye color wasn't much to go on for someone's identity. "That's great Yuri, but I can't exactly pick someone out of a crowd just on their eye color."

"Oh... That's true..." Yuri admitted, thinking of some of the more pronounced physical characteristics the boy had. "Well... He seemed... rather muscular."

"Ooh~" Natsuki called out, happy to finally be getting to the good stuff. "You got a thing for muscles, Yuri?"

"Wha?! N-No! I-I-I just..." Yuri could feel her entire face, all the way up to her ears, go completely red. "I j-just saw his a-arms is all."

"Uh-huh" Natsuki responded with a wide grin.

Desperately thinking of a way in which she could change the subject, Yuri blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I... um... he was... quite t-tall...

"Really?" Natsuki asked, surprised to the point that she let the whole muscle thing go. "Wow, even taller than you?"

"Y-Yes... I mean, I was sitting down..." Yuri said, as she placed her arms on the desk and nervously interweaved her fingers together. "So I couldn't really compare o-our heights... but he..."

Yuri was suddenly cut off by the sound of the classroom door being swung open with a high amount of energy. Sayori stepped inside and made a loud proclamation to everyone in the room. "Everyone! The new member is here~!"

As Natsuki looked past Yuri to see what Sayori was yelling about, she pointed to Sayori and the new member she brought along with her. "So like around that guy's height?"

Yuri turned her head to see who Natsuki was pointing at. "Hmm?"

"Thanks for having me!" The new member shouted out with a friendly wave, almost as enthusiastically as Sayori had. As he bent down slightly so he could enter the room without issue, Yuri gasped as she turned her entire body in her desk to face him, knocking her book off the desk in the process.

Hearing the book hit the floor, the boy began to walk over to both Yuri and Natsuki.

Natsuki stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Seriously? You brought a boy?" She asked Sayori, ignoring his approach. "Way to kill the atmosphere."

Yuri found herself at a complete loss for words, she had been stammering for the entire time the boy who she had just been describing was walking over.

As he stopped right in front of Yuri's desk, the boy laughed heartily as he knelt down. "Well, I promise I won't be too much of a stick in the mud."

Picking Yuri's book up off the floor and dusting it off, the boy smiled in the same way he had in the school garden as he held the book out towards Yuri. "Hello again."

...

Yuri stared into the boy's eyes as he held something out to her for the second time today.

Gingerly reaching out, she accepted the book he had picked up for her. "Th-Thank you..." She blushed as she clutched the book tightly. "A-And hello... a-again..."

As the boy stood up and began to open his mouth to say something, the final club member walked into the room through the open door. "Ah, MC! What a nice surprise!" Monika called out in a friendly manner. "Welcome to the club!"

"MC..." Yuri said under her breath as she continued to stare at the boy who had now turned his attention towards Monika.

"Monika!" MC reciprocated her greeting with an equally friendly voice. "Long time no talk, how've you been?"

"I've been good." Monika replied as she placed a hand on her hip while holding her other one out with an extended finger. "But I'm even better now that we have a new club member!"

As MC and Monika caught up, Yuri looked down towards her book, wanting to speak to MC, but not being able to find the chance since she didn't want to rudely interrupt the conversation he was having.

While Yuri snuck glimpses at MC as he spoke, Natsuki slid up next to her after noticing her eyes dart between her book and the new boy. "What are you looking at?" Natsuki asked, as Yuri ignored the question.

Following Yuri's line of sight, Natsuki noticed the boy's eye color, they were definitely auburn, just like Yuri said. Holding her hand up to her mouth to quiet her gasp, Natsuki grinned widely as she turned her face back towards Yuri. "That's him, isn't it?!" She whispered in Yuri's ear.

Pulling back, as a result to both Natsuki's proximity as well as her question, Yuri stammered out a response. "Wha- What m-makes you say that?!"

Natsuki simply pointed to her eye in response. "If you want to say something to him, say it."

"I... I..." Was all Yuri could manage to say before the conversation MC and Monika were having ended, with Sayori deciding to introduce him to the two club members he was less familiar with.

Trotting over behind both Yuri and Natsuki, Sayori placed her hand on Natsuki's shoulder. "Anyway! This is Natsuki, always full of energy." She then patted Yuri on the shoulder. "And this is Yuri, the smartest in the club!"

At the unexpected praise, Yuri began to fiddle with her hair in embarrassment. "D-Don't say things like that..."

Nodding towards Natsuki, MC smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you Natsuki." Then looking over towards Yuri. "And it's wonderful to see you again as well, Yuri."

Yuri blushed heavily, no one had ever told her that it was wonderful to see her. "Y-You too... MC..."

"Oh!" Sayori suddenly called out, remembering something she wanted to say. "Come sit down, MC! We made room for you at the table, so you can sit next to me or Monika." As she turned around, Sayori noticed something was amiss. "Oh... we didn't push the desks together..."

MC chucked gently. "Not a problem, Sayori. I'll take care of it."

"Okay!" Sayori energetically replied. "I'll get the cupcakes~"

Natsuki's arms flew to her sides. "Hey! I made them, I'll get them!"

Bringing her fingers together in embarrassment, Sayori giggled. "Sorry, I got a little too excited~"

Standing up quickly, Yuri added to the conversation as well. "Then... h-how about I make some tea as well...?"

As MC let Sayori and Natsuki walk past him to go get the cupcakes, his head perked up slightly at the mention of tea. "Tea? That sounds heavenly."

Yuri looked up at him before she went to retrieve the tea set. "Y-You like tea?

"Of course." He replied.

"I-Is there..." Yuri looked down at her feet before gazing back up at MC. "Is there any type that you'd p-prefer?"

MC thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Not particularly. I'm sure you have excellent taste, Yuri."

"O-Oh..." Yuri could feel herself begin to blush again. "Th-Thank you..."

"You're very welcome, Yuri." MC nodded at her with a smile as he walked over to begin moving the desks.

...

As Yuri walked back into the club room after filling up the electric kettle with water from the hall fountain, she placed it down on a desk and proceeded to retrieve her tea set from the closet.

With her tea set in hand, she gazed over at MC. He had placed an arm underneath the bottom of two desks, moving several of them off to the side so that the collection of desks they would use as their group table would have a bit more room. Sayori and Monika assisted him by moving the chairs.

As Yuri stared at MC, she failed to notice Natsuki was standing next to her until she bumped her hips into Yuri's side. Startled by the contact, Yuri looked down at Natsuki, who had an extremely smug look on her face. "I told ya, you've got a thing for muscles~"

As Yuri tried and failed to blubber out a response, Natsuki proudly marched over to the newly constructed table with her cupcake tray in hand. "Okaaay, are you ready?" Natsuki asked as she placed her tray on the table.

While Natsuki was preparing to show off her cupcakes, Yuri set the appropriate temperature on the electric kettle for the tea they would be having, she then placed it down on one of the desks MC moved away from their group table. While the water boiled, she began to measure out the desired amount of her tea blend into a ball infuser, Yuri then placed the infuser into the ceramic teapot and placed the pot's lid off to the side.

"...Ta-daa!" Natsuki confidently pronounced as she lifted the aluminum foil on top of the tray to reveal a dozen white, fluffy cupcakes decorated to look like little cats.

"Uwooooah!" Sayori uttered out in amazement at the sight of the confectionary delights. "That's super, duper cute, Natsuki! Their little whiskers are drawn on with icing!" Sayori gasped in pure joy. "And their ears are pieces of chocolate! They're so cuuuute~!"

"I had no idea you were so good at baking, Natsuki!" Monika praised.

"Ehehe. Well, you know." Natsuki responded. "Just hurry and take one!"

Yuri turned her gaze back to the percolating water, she felt sad that she wasn't able to do something that others would be able to appreciate like Natsuki's baking.

"It's delicious!" Yuri heard Sayori shout out in response to her first bite of a cupcake.

As she turned back towards the group table to see Sayori's face covered in vanilla icing, Yuri noticed that their new club member was nowhere to be found.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Yuri heard to her side, causing her to jump slightly.

"Oh!" MC said in equal amounts of surprise. "I didn't mean to frighten you Yuri, I'm sorry."

"N-No!" Yuri quickly responded as she regained her composure. "I-I wasn't s-scared. I just..." Her voice began to trail off in embarrassment. "I just didn't notice you come over."

Concern clear on his face, MC smiled empathetically. "Well, at any rate. Is there anything I can do to help with the tea?"

"Oh... um..." Yuri looked back at the nearly temperature perfect water and then back towards MC. "N-No, th-thank you. It's almost ready." Yuri then looked back at the table to see Sayori, Natsuki, and Monika having fun conversing while enjoying the cupcakes. Yuri's voice was only slightly above a whisper as the tea kettle signaled that it was ready. "You can go and have fun with e-everyone else."

"Nonsense." MC said with a wave of his hand. "Everyone includes you, right? So you should be having fun too."

Yuri just looked up at MC, taken aback by the continued kindness that he has shown to her since she first saw him.

"Here." He said as he picked up the tea kettle. "At least let me help you bring the tea over."

"O-Okay..." Yuri watched as MC easily lifted up the electric kettle and filled the teapot to the brim with water.

"Is that alright?" He asked.

"Y-Yes, that's perfect." Yuri replied as she placed the lid back on the teapot to conserve the water's heat. She then began placing the teapot and cups on a rectangular tray to bring over to the group.

As she went to place her hands on the tray, her hands gently brushed by MC's, who also moved to pick up the tray. Her face reddening, she looked up at MC with a flustered expression, but refrained from pulling her hand away.

"Pardon me, Yuri." MC said, pulling his hand back. "I could carry it over, if you'd like."

"O-Oh... um..." The tray was a bit heavy, and it would be rude to refuse such a kind offer. "S-Sure... Thank you..."

Nodding with a smile, MC placed both of his hands on each side of the tray.

As the two of them reached the collection of tables everyone else was seated at, Yuri uttered out an apology. "I'm s-sorry the tea took so long to p-prepare."

Before the others could react, MC spoke while he placed the tray down and began pouring hot tea into the five cups. "There's no reason to apologize, Yuri. Personally, I believe that doing things well is worth all the time in the world."

Sitting down across from MC and accepting the hot cup of tea that he handed to her, Yuri simply blushed as she held the cup. "Th-Thank you..." Her appreciation was more for his kind words than it was for the tea.

After he finished passing out the tea, MC sat down next to Sayori and accepted a cupcake that she passed to him. "Thank you, Sayori. Well then..." He began to say as he looked over the cupcake, trying to find the best angle in which to take a bite.

Natsuki snuck glances at MC in anticipation to his reaction to her hard work. As he bit down on the fluffy pastry, MC's eyes lit up. "This is incredible!" Turning over the cupcake to get a better look at the interior of the cake, he turned back towards Natsuki. "The icing is sweet, but not overly so, and is full of flavor. Plus, the cake has been perfectly baked, allowing for a moist bite in conjunction with the icing. The cake flour gave it a perfect structure."

Turning his gaze to the top of the cupcake, he continued. "The chocolate decorations not only draw your eye to the pure white cake and icing, but they also add to the wonderful flavor just enough without distracting from the vanilla." Finally looking back at Natsuki after finishing his observation of her baking skills, he smiled at her with some icing on the side of his lips. "You're a very talented baker, Natsuki. Thank you."

Everyone at the table, besides Sayori, sat completely awestruck by MC's culinary analytical skills.

Sayori giggled. "MC knows a ton about food! He even made be an omelet sauté for breakfast today."

"Soufflé." MC corrected.

"Yeah, that!" Sayori happily said.

Still a bit surprised by his massive amounts of praise, Natsuki found herself a bit flustered. "W-Why are you thanking me? It's not like I..." Her shoulders slumped down a bit. "...Made them for you, or anything."

MC scratched his chin. "I suppose that's true."

Sayori quickly interjected as a thought popped into her mind. "But wait, Natsuki. I told you yesterday I was bringing a new member today. So you kinda did make them for MC!" She smiled while giggling.

Natsuki crossed her arms, searching for a way to get herself out of the center of attention. Looking at Yuri, who was nibbling on her own cupcake, Natsuki found her escape. "Well, I guess... But I didn't make them alone! Yuri helped me a bunch!"

"Really?" MC asked, turning his gaze towards Yuri. "Can you bake too, Yuri?"

With pastry in her mouth, all Yuri could do was look back at MC as Natsuki cast the spotlight on her. "Well I don't know about that, but I wouldn't have been able to make the cupcakes in time without her. She was a big help getting everything in home ec, they'd probably have taken twice as much time to make if she wasn't there to help me get everything I needed. She's the reason they're here!"

Blushing at all the praise she was receiving, Yuri looked into her tea while MC added his thoughts into the mix. "It sounds like you're quite indispensable, Yuri."

"Well... I... I don't know a-about all that..." Yuri said, but she still smiled all the same.

As she said that, she saw that MC was about to take a sip of his tea, causing Yuri to look up at him with a small amount of worry.

She thought that there'd be no way that her tea would be able to live up to the flavor of Natsuki's cupcakes.

But as he swallowed his first sip of tea, MC's eyes appeared as if a fire had been ignited in them.

With a massive smile on his face, he turned the teacup around in his hands as he watched the liquid swirl in the cup. "This is amazing, Yuri! Is this your own blend?"

Shocked by his positive reaction, it took a moment for Yuri to respond. "Y-Yes!" She happily said. "There's..."

Before she could tell him the ingredients that she used for her tea blend, MC held his hand out with his index finger extended to prevent her from revealing the components of her tea.

"If I had to describe this tea... I would say it is both floral and deeply provocative." MC said as he took another sip. "This is green tea with jasmine and lavender flowers, with a small piece of orange peel." MC looked back up at Yuri from his teacup. "Am I correct?"

Yuri was absolutely jubilant, she was so happy that someone enjoyed her tea blend so much, and was able to tell not only what some of the ingredients were, but every single thing she put into it. She joyfully nodded to MC's question. "Yes! You're absolutely correct!"

Feeling everyone else's eyes on her, she felt slight embarrassment as she cleared her throat. "I-I'm happy to hear you enjoy it." Yuri fidgeted a bit in her seat. "A-After all, doesn't a hot cup of tea help you e-enjoy a good book?"

MC thought for a moment. "I suppose that is true. Especially a cup as good as this." He said as he finished his cup. "Why, you'd have no choice but to enjoy whatever you're doing after drinking some of this relaxing and mesmerizing tea."

Holding her teacup in both hands, Yuri looked off to her side. Feeling both flattered and bashful from MC's compliments. "I'm glad..." Yuri faintly smiled to herself, relieved that MC didn't just enjoy her tea, but loved it.

...

As the conversation between the five students continued, Monika asked MC a question. "So, what made you consider the Literature Club?"

"That one." MC responded, pointing to Sayori for emphasis. Sayori just laughed in response before MC clarified what he meant. "I've been looking for a new club to join after the Gardening Club got disbanded. So earlier today, Sayori asked me if I'd be interested in coming here. And I decided..." MC shrugged his shoulders. "...Why not? If Sayori enjoys it here I guarantee I will too."

Monika smiled at his answer. "Well, We'll make sure you feel right at home, okay? As president of the Literature Club, it's my duty to make the club fun and exciting for everyone!"

MC chuckled. "With a response like that it sounds like you're running for office, Monika."

She chuckled too. "Ahaha, well, you know... I guess it's a holdover from my time in the Debate Club.

MC furrowed his brow slightly to remember something. "Oh yeah, you were the head of that last year. Weren't you?

"Yeah..." She responded. "But to be honest, I can't stand all the drama and politics around the major clubs. It feels like nothing but arguing about the budget and publicity and how to prepare for events..."

"I can understand that." MC said. "As soon as the news got out that the Gardening Club got axed, they sent some people to try and recruit me to join their club." MC looked towards Yuri with a smile. "But I prefered to just keep working on the school garden on my own time."

Yuri returned his smile as she felt his handkerchief in her blazer pocket.

Monika nodded in agreement with his statement. "I couldn't agree more, I'd rather take something I personally enjoy and make something special out of it. And if it encourages others to get into literature, then I'm fulfilling that dream!"

"Monika really is a great leader!" Sayori said, with Yuri nodding agreement.

"I have no doubt." MC complimented. "It does feel really cozy in here."

"Thanks!" Monika responded. "You're our first new member since we started last month."

"Wow, really?" MC asked.

"Yeah..." Monika kind of half heartedly replied. "Not many people are very interested in putting in the effort to start something brand new. Especially when it's something that doesn't grab your attention, like literature. You have to work hard to convince people that you're both fun and worthwhile." Monika's spirits lifted as she continued. "But it makes school events, like the festival, that much more important. I'm confident that we can all really grow this club before we graduate! Right, everyone?"

"Yeah!" Sayori enthusiastically yelled.

"W-We'll do our best." Yuri added.

"You know it." Natsuki agreed.

MC looked at all four girls. "Well it's great to see that such different people are interested in the same goal. It's very..." He thought for a moment for the word to describe it. "Wholesome, I suppose."

...

With a momentary lapse in the conversation, Yuri decided to try and ask MC a question of her own. "S-So, MC, what kinds of things do you l-like to read?"

"Hmm..." MC crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair to think for a moment. "You know, I'm not too picky when it comes to what I read, so long as the story is enjoyable. Whether it's a traditional book, a novel, manga..." Natsuki's head perked up suddenly, seemly wanting to add something to the conversation, but she kept quiet. "...a short story, or anything really." MC gestured to Yuri. "What about you, Yuri?"

"W-Well, let's see..." Yuri began to trace the rim of her teacup with her finger. "My f-favorites are usually novels that build deep and complex f-fantasy worlds. The level of c-creativity and craftsmanship behind them is amazing to me. And telling a good story in such a foreign world is equally impressive."

She continued on about her literary preferences, passion emanating from her. "But you know, I like a lot of things. Stories with deep psychological elements usually immerse me as well. Isn't it amazing how a writer can so deliberately take advantage of your own lack of imagination to completely throw you for a lo- Oh!" Yuri suddenly stopped herself from continuing.

Awkwardly, she looked down at her desk and then back at MC. "I-I didn't mean t-to imply that you..." She looked down into her tea. "...Don't have any i-imagination..."

MC looked surprised. "I didn't think you implied that at all, Yuri. But I know what you mean, an author that's able to carefully craft an immersive world is quite impressive, indeed. Especially if that world is able to have concepts that are unique from our own."

Pleased that she didn't offend him, and that he agreed with her, Yuri grinned slightly before continuing. "A-Anyway, I've been reading a lot of h-horror lately..."

"Ah, I've read a few horror novels before." MC said as he leaned forward again. "They were some seriously spooky stuff."

"MC's a bit of a scaredy cat!" Sayori giggled. "I scared him when he was walking out of class before we walked over here."

MC just looked at Sayori before turning back to everyone else in the room. "So, during a sleepover back when we were eight, Sayori..."

Sayori shrieked in terror at what MC was about to say, picking up the remaining half of her third cupcake and shoving it into his open mouth.

As MC laughed with a full mouth and icing all over his face, Sayori puffed her cheeks out in aggravation. "That's mean, MC! You promised you'd never, ever tell!"

Swallowing the cupcake she slammed into his face. MC wiped his face with a napkin. "I know, and don't worry I wasn't going to say it. I kinda just wanted to see what you'd do." MC nudged Sayori with his elbow. "Plus, I had to get you back for that."

With her arms still crossed, Sayori ignored him. While the others just sat and watched the antics between the two old friends.

"A-Anyway..." Monika began, in order to get the conversation back on track after what just happened. "I wouldn't have expected that you enjoy horror, Yuri. For someone as gentle as you..."

Still surprised by how close Sayori and MC are, it took a moment for Yuri to respond. "O-Oh... Well... I guess you c-could say that. But if a story makes me think, o-or takes me to another world, then I really can't put it down." She gazed back at MC after he finished cleaning his face. "Surreal horror is o-often very successful at changing the way you look at the w-world, if only for a brief moment."

"Ugh, I hate horror..." Natsuki interjected, arms crossed.

"O-Oh... Why's that?" Yuri asked.

"Well I just..." Natsuki's eyes darted over to MC for a split second. "Never mind."

"That's right, you usually like to write about cute things, don't you, Natsuki?" Monika stated, only partially asking.

Natsuki's arms shot out to her sides. "W-What? What gives you that idea?"

Monika held her finger out to her side in an instructive manner. "You left a piece of scrap paper behind last club meeting. It looked like you were working on a poem called-"

"Don't say it out loud!" Natsuki demanded. "And give that back!"

"Fine, fine~" Monika said as she complied.

"Ehehe, you're cupcakes, your poems..." Sayori began. "Everything you do is just as cute as you are~"

Sayori sidled up behind Natsuki and put her hands on her shoulders.

Natsuki's face turned as red as her hair ribbons. "I'm not cute!" She shouted, but she didn't try to get Sayori to break her contact with her.

MC turned towards Natsuki while Sayori nuzzled up against her. "Natsuki, you write your own poems?"

"Eh? Well, I guess I do sometimes." She responded as Sayori attempted to reach over and grab her cupcake, resulting in Natsuki swatting her hand. "Why do you care?"

MC shrugged his shoulders. "I just think that's rather impressive. I've never really had much of a head for poetry, but I'd love to read them sometime."

"N-No!" Natsuki averted her eyes away from MC. "You wouldn't... like them..."

"Well we don't know that for sure." MC began. "But if you don't want to share them that's perfectly fine. I wouldn't want to pressure you."

Yuri chimed in with her thoughts. "I-I understand how Natsuki feels. Sharing that l-level of writing takes more than just..." She paused at the last word. "...C-Confidence..." Perking her head up slightly, she continued. "The truest form of writing is writing to o-oneself. You must be willing to open up to your readers, exposing your v-vulnerabilities and showing even the deepest reaches of your h-heart."

At Yuri's eloquently put statement, Monika posed a question to her. "Do you have writing experience too, Yuri? Maybe if you share some of your work, you can set an example and help Natsuki feel comfortable enough to share hers."

Yuri didn't respond, she only brought her hands up to her chest and looked back down at her desk.

As MC went to say something to reassure Yuri. Sayori let her disappointment be known. "Aww... I wanted to read everyone's poems..."

Everyone sat in silence for a moment before Monika spoke up. "Okay! I have an idea, everyone~"

Natsuki and Yuri looked at Monika quizzically.

"Let's all go home and write a poem of our own! Then, next time we meet, we'll all share them with each other. That way, everyone is even!"

"U-Um..." Natsuki began.

Yuri was unable to say anything.

But Sayori found herself energized by Monika's idea. "Yeaaah! Let's do it!"

"Plus, now that we have a new member, I think it will help us all get a little more comfortable with each other, and strengthen the bond of the club." Monika then smiled warmly towards MC. "Isn't that right, MC?"

"Absolutely!" MC confidently said in agreement. He then looked towards Yuri and Natsuki before continuing. "Yuri, Natsuki. I know that you're both nervous about sharing something so intimate, and that's perfectly fine, showing someone else something so personal is certainly a tall order." Seeing both girls kind of slump down in their chairs, MC kept speaking. "However, you both have already shared something deeply personal."

At the last part of his statement, both girls seemed puzzled. "I'm referring to your cupcakes." MC said as he pointed towards Natsuki. "And you're tea." He added while motioning towards Yuri. "Cooking or making something for someone is one of the deepest ways you can show your love and appreciation for them." Sayori began playing with her hair as she glanced off to the side. "Besides, if your poems are only half as good as your tea and cupcakes, I'm sure they'll be topnotch."

Before Yuri and Natsuki could react, Monika ushered in some praise. "Well said, MC! So I guess that means you're in the club then, right?"

MC chuckled with a faux confused look on his face. "I thought I was already in."

"I guess that's true." Monika giggled. "Then that makes it official, Welcome to the Literature Club, MC!"

"Yesss! I'm so happyyy~" Sayori shouted as she hopped up from her chair and over onto MC, wrapping her arms around him while she jumped up and down.

Blushing from MC's reassuring words, Yuri smiled gently. "I'm glad that you'll be spending time h-here..."

"Good." Natsuki said. "If you had just come for the cupcakes, I would have been super pissed."

"Thanks, everyone!" MC happily said.

"Okay, everyone!" Monika called out. "I think with that, we can officially end today's meeting on a good note. Be sure to remember tonight's assignment, write a poem to bring to the next meeting, so we can all share!" Monika looked over at MC once more. "MC, I'm looking forward to seeing how you express yourself. Ehehe~"

"Same here, Monika." MC replied. "Tomorrow can't come soon enough!"

...

After finishing the remaining cupcakes and tea, everyone continued to chit-chat as they cleaned up and moved the desks back to where they belonged.

"Hey, MC." Sayori called out from across the room. "I'm gonna use the bathroom before we walk home, 'kay?"

"Sure thing, Sayori." MC replied as he put the final desk back in its proper spot. "I'll be right here."

"Yaay~" She said as she left the room.

As Monika waved goodbye, Natsuki walked up to MC. "Were you telling the truth... When you said you'd love to read my poems?"

Surprised at her question, MC nodded in the affirmative. "Of course, Natsuki. I'd never lie about something like that."

"Well... good!" Natsuki quickly shot back as she put her hands on her hips. "Then I hope you're ready for tomorrow, because you're gonna see how a real pro does things!"

MC smiled at her passion. "I have no doubt in my mind, Natsuki. I'll be looking forward to your poem."

As Natsuki looked pleased with herself, she said her goodbyes and left to go home.

"U-Um... M-MC..." Yuri quietly said, standing by a desk near the back of the room. "C-Can I... Can I t-talk to y-you...?

"Of course!" MC answered in a friendly voice. "There's no need to ask, feel free to start talking to me whenever you want."

"Oh... I'm s-sorry." Yuri responded.

"There's also no need to apologize." MC said as he walked over and stopped a short distance before Yuri. "So, what would you like to talk about?"

"I... I..." Yuri was flustered, looking off to the side of the room at nothing in particular as she tried to find the strength to speak. "I..."

Staring down at the floor, feeling ashamed of herself for not being able speak to MC alone, she felt like just running out of the room and being alone.

"You know, I like your passion, Yuri." She heard him say.

"H-Huh...?" Yuri looked back up at him. "You... You l-like..."

"I do." MC said, folding his hands behind is back. "I could see how enthusiastic you were when you were talking about something you adored." He smiled sadly. "In all honesty, I wish I had something that I felt that strongly about."

Yuri's face felt flush, she felt happy but also slightly embarrassed to be receiving continued praise from MC. "Th-Thank you..." She took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then released it. "I... just wanted to thank y-you for..." She paused as she pulled out a white piece of fabric from her blazer pocket. "E-Everything."

As Yuri held out the handkerchief to him, she had a small blush and a gentle smile on her face. As MC walked over to her, he delicately took the bottom of her hand and folded it on top of the embroidered white square.

Yuri was surprised that he was holding her hand, but she also felt a bit strange. Her heart was beating fast, but it felt very light, like her chest was full of nothing but sunshine. She was experiencing something that she had never felt before.

MC smiled widely at her. "Yuri, thank you. That's very kind of you, but I want you to keep it."

"R-Really?!" Yuri looked down at her hand that was still being held by MC. "A-Are you... Are you sure?"

"There's not a doubt in my mind." He answered, letting go of her hand. "Besides, it's still allergy season. You'll probably be needing it."

At his kind hearted and innocent answer, Yuri cracked a big smile, and laughed. She laughed with an amount of glee that she hadn't felt in a long time.

MC was happy to finally see her smile and laugh. As she finished giggling, she gazed at MC with a grateful expression in her eyes. "Thank you, MC."

"Anytime, Yuri. You're welcome." He turned around right as Sayori walked back into the room.

"Wow, MC! How'd you know I was coming in?" Sayori asked, flabbergasted.

"Who knows?" MC shrugged. "Maybe I'm just lucky." As he grabbed his bag, he looked back at Yuri with a wide grin and waved goodbye to her. "I'll see you tomorrow Yuri, it was a pleasure to both meet you and to spend time with you today."

"Yeah! It was great!" Sayori added, before looking befuddled for a moment. "I mean, I already met you before, I meant everything else." She giggled.

"I think she knows, Sayori." MC said.

"Ehehe~" Was Sayori's only response.

"S-See you tomorrow." Yuri waved to both of them.

And with that, the Literature Club meeting had been concluded, Yuri began to walk over to the desk that her school bag was resting on. Opening the bag to put her book away and make sure she had everything before leaving, she noticed the two tickets to Dr. Alexander's art symposium resting inside.

Picking up the tickets that had caused such a mix of emotions just hours prior, she looked them over and saw that the date of the symposium was this upcoming Sunday. Holding them in her hand as she walked over to the classroom window, see could see Sayori energetically skipping around MC.

As she looked at him from high up above, she could feel her heartbeat hasten once again, as that same lightness in her chest returned.


	5. Homeward Bound

Sayori excitedly hopped around MC. "So what did you and Yuri talk about while I was in the bathroom?"

Moving his neck so he could follow Sayori's movement around him, MC thought for a moment before replying. "Nothing much." He said as he shrugged his shoulders. "She just thanked me for joining the Literature Club."

"What?" Sayori disappointedly cried out as she stopped hopping around MC. "I was hoping for something more interesting than that."

MC chuckled. "Like what?"

Standing to his side as she brought a finger up to her chin in thought, Sayori held it up as her thoughts came together. "Like a love confession, or something dramatic like that!"

MC scoffed at the idea. "I just met her today, Sayori. There's no way I could charm someone that quickly."

Looking off to the side, Sayori held her school bag behind her back as she moved her shoulders back and forth. "Well, I don't know about that." She began before she lowered her voice. "I think you're pretty charming..."

"Hmm?" MC said as he cupped a hand around his ear and leaned down next to Sayori. "What was that?"

Instead of answering, Sayori just stuck her finger in her mouth and then put it in MC's ear.

Feeling his entire body quiver at the feeling of saliva in his ear, MC stood back up straight and held his ear. "Sayori!"

Giggling, Sayori began to run away from him.

As he sprinted off after her, she continued to laugh until she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

Coming to a sudden stop, Sayori pointed off to the other side of the street. "MC! Look!"

Stopping fast enough that he was able to just slide up next to her, MC looked off into the direction she was pointing. "What am I looking at?"

"There's no line at St. Gentleman's!" She excitedly responded.

"Oh, the bakery?" MC asked as he looked over to the location in question. There were a few customers in the store, but there was no long line like there usually was.

Sayori held her hands up in a pleading manner. "Can we please go over there, MC? I haven't had one of their éclairs in such a long time!"

"A week isn't a long time." MC responded. "Besides, we just had cupcakes. And not to mention you giving me a wet wi-"

Glancing down to his side, MC saw Sayori gazing up at him with puppy dog eyes. Her sky blue eyes made him feel knots in his stomach as he tried to look away from her, only for Sayori to follow his gaze as he tried to turn around.

Sighing, MC resigned himself to going over to the bakery. "Fine... I guess we do need some fresh bread for dinner, after all."

"Yay!" Sayori shouted as she jumped up victoriously. "MC, you're the best!"

"Just don't eat too much and spoil your dinner." He responded.

...

Walking home, Yuri found herself unable to think of anything besides MC. "I wonder if he'd enjoy any of my books?" She muttered to herself.

As she continued to make her way back to her house, she tried to think of a title that he may like. "He did say he read a few horror novels..." She said to herself as she thought.

Creating a mental checklist of books that she owned, she found herself muttering again. When she considered a story to be a little too niche or even unappealing to someone not as well versed in the genre, she let out a quiet, "No." Before she considered the next book that she could potentially offer to him.

Going over all of her books mentally, her primary concern was that she didn't want to offer MC any story that could potentially lead to him thinking that she was weird. As she thought of some of the imagery in the recent novels that she was reading, Yuri realized that the chances of finding one that had a low risk of making MC see her as unusual was getting slimmer and slimmer.

Stopping in her tracks at the crosswalk, she looked down at her feet as she thought about giving up. "M-Maybe I shouldn't..."

Hearing the sound of a bell behind her caused her to jump a little as she snapped back to reality. Turning around to see the source of the sound, she saw a quaint little store. "Othello's Books..." Yuri read out quietly.

As she looked between the shop and the green light of the crosswalk, she considered the possibility that maybe there would be something inside this store that MC may like.

Patting her blazer pocket to feel the handkerchief he gave her, a small smile broke out across Yuri's face. "Maybe... Maybe I could get him a gift... as a thank you..."

Turning to face the bookstore, Yuri walked over to the entrance. Opening the door as the bell jingled out serenely.

...

As Sayori gleefully began to eat her éclair, MC accepted the freshly baked loaf of bread from the young cashier with a smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome..." The blond cashier responded.

As MC placed a bit of his change into the tip jar and began to turn to walk away, he heard the rustling of a bag and looked back towards the counter.

With an outstretched arm, the cashier was holding out a small white bag with a smile on her face. "We'll be closing soon, so... these would just go to waste. Please, take them."

Walking back over to the counter, MC smiled back at the cashier. "Thank you very much, that's a very kind gesture."

Holding out his hand to accept the bag, the cashier placed it in his waiting hand. But before he could move his hand back, she gently ran her fingers down the length of his hand.

"Take care." She said with a wink.

MC cleared his throat. "Thanks, you too."

Turning to leave, the cashier waved at him as he and Sayori left the bakery.

"What was that all about, Lover Boy?" Sayori teased as she nudged her elbow into his side.

"Yeah, yeah." He dismissively said as he began to open the bag the cashier gave him for free. "Get your teasing out of the way."

Looking into the bag, there were three perfectly puffy croissants inside. Wasting no time, Sayori quickly grabbed one and took a bite. "Wow! These are super good!" She giggled slightly as she chewed her snack. "I'm glad you get extra stuff because of your looks, MC."

MC faintly groaned at her prodding. "Well... I've heard the way to someone's heart is through their stomach, so I guess that's why I keep getting all this stuff." He answered as he held the bag back up.

"Hey, what's this?" Sayori asked as she put her hand back into the bag of croissants. Removing the item in question, it was a folded piece of white paper.

Turning it over, Sayori began giggling as she held it out for MC to see. "Look, MC! She gave you her number!"

Knowing she'd be bothering him with this for the foreseeable future, MC quickly napped the piece of paper from her hand. "I'll be taking that, thank you very much."

"Hey!" Sayori protested. "No fair, I was gonna call and set you up on a date."

"Yeah, I know. You did the same exact thing when a girl working at an ice cream parlor gave me her number." MC pointed out.

"Oh, yeah." Sayori said as she remembered the event. "Ehehe~"

Turning over the piece of paper in his hands, he noticed that as one of the folds began to come undone, that there was some printed text on the paper.

Handing Sayori the loaf of bread he was carrying, MC opened up the piece of paper to reveal a flyer for a cooking competition in the upcoming weeks.

"Wow, look at this." MC said as he took the bread loaf back and held the flyer out so Sayori could see it too.

Sayori gasped happily. "A cooking tournament! You and Natsuki could enter as a team!"

Even more excited than when MC agreed to go inside the bakery, Sayori looked happy with herself. "Now aren't you happy you constantly get girls' numbers?"

Laughing at her comment, MC looked down at the competition flyer in his hand. "I suppose I am."

...

Natsuki paused as she stared at her front door, taking a deep breath as she gripped the handle and turned it, she entered her home with a well behaved greeting. "I-I'm home, Papa."

Standing in the entranceway of her home, she waited for what felt like minutes for her greeting to be reciprocated. But when she didn't hear anything after letting some time pass, she finally let out the breath she had been holding, she was alone.

Taking off her shoes and placing them in the cubbie next to the front door, she went into the kitchen to get something to eat. Placing her school bag onto the kitchen table, she went over to the refrigerator to see what was inside.

"Empty..." She despondently muttered to herself. She wasn't exactly surprised by the lack of contents, but she still always checked, just in case something changed.

Closing the refrigerator door, she walked over to the kitchen sink to get some water. Gazing up at the glasses, she stood on the tips of her toes to try an reach them, but to no avail. She could just tap the bottoms of the glasses, but she didn't want to run the risk of knocking them over and having them shatter on the floor if she tried to jump up and grab them.

Sighing, she just rolled up the sleeve of her right arm and turned on the faucet. Letting the water cool down a bit before she tried to drink any, she looked at the large bruise on her forearm. "Almost gone." She happily said to herself before she cupped her hands together to gather some water.

Leaning over, she brought her hands up to her face. Letting the cool water rest on her lips before she took a hearty drink of the liquid to refresh herself.

Turning the faucet off, she glanced over at the living room couch. She then looked over to her school bag, she didn't have much homework tonight. "I wonder if Papa dropped any coins in the couch..."

...

Walking inside her home and closing the door behind her, Yuri looked around the large, empty house. "Hello, I'm home."

Hearing her voice, the only other occupant of the building ran up to Yuri. "Hi, there." She gently said as she bent down to greet her little friend. "Did you miss me?" Yuri asked the black cat that was rubbing up against her legs as she ran her hand down his back.

Hearing his automatic feeder drop his dinner, Yuri's cat sprinted off in the other direction towards his food. Giggling as her cat slide down the hall and began to run in another direction, Yuri walked into her living room and unbuttoned her blazer, placing the piece of clothing on the back of a chair.

Placing her school bag on the same chair, she opened it up and retrieved her book from inside. Glancing at her school work, she decided she would finish it after she read a few more chapters, she had just gotten to an exciting part, after all.

Before closing her bag, Yuri looked at the new copy of Portrait of Markov that she had purchased as a gift for MC. Feeling a little antsy at the thought of giving it to him, she quickly shut her bag.

Laying down on the floor, Yuri got comfortable as she prepared to continue the most recent piece of literature she was partaking in. Before she started reading, Yuri felt her cat nuzzle up next to her.

Sitting back up, she began to pet her little friend. "Guess what! A new member joined the club today."

Her cat only responded by purring at the contact she made on him as he plopped down with a loud thump next to her.

Yuri smiled as she continued to tell her cat about the day she had. "I thought today was going to be terrible." She looked slightly downcast as she remembered the first half of her school day. "But then this really kind boy talked to me. Can you believe it?"

Yuri's cat looked at her with bright, green eyes as he sniffed her leg. Holding her left hand up to her chest as she rubbed her cat with her right, Yuri reminisced about the kind boy. "His name is MC, he was so nice and interesting to talk to."

As she rubbed her cat's chin, Yuri swallowed nervously. "He was also... very h-handsome..."

Shaking her head to get rid of her blush, she laid back down on the floor as she picked her book back up. "Let's get to reading before I lose my train of thought." She said, mostly to herself.

As Yuri began to read her book, she slowly became engrossed in the fictional world of her story. As her black cat curled up next to her and contentedly closed his eyes.

...

Monika sat on the couch inside of her apartment, easily finishing the homework she had for the day in mere moments.

Placing the pen she had used to write down her answers onto the coffee table, she leaned back on the couch and felt the cushions behind her get pressed down under her weight.

School work was always pretty easy for her, but now it was no challenge for her whatsoever. She felt as if every answer appeared in her mind before she had even seen the question.

Staring up at the ceiling, she let a bored sigh out as she removed the white bow from her long, coral brown hair. Allowing her ponytail to fall onto her shoulders, letting her undone bow fall behind the couch and onto the floor.

Still gazing up at the ceiling, Monika's eyes slowly traveled over to where the ceiling and wall met, and then eventually over to the entrance of her apartment. Staring at the protruding spackle of the hole in her wall, Monika grimaced.

She turned her attention away from the hole and attempted to distract herself by opening up her notebook, grabbing her pen, and trying to write the poem she was going to share with everyone at the club tomorrow.

But the moment her pen touched the paper, she heard a violent and grating sound. It was simultaneously squealing, screeching, and piercing. Dropping her notebook and pen as she brought her hands up to hold the sides of her head, she let out a pained whimper. "No... Not yet... T-The chapter isn't even over yet..."

Picking up a pillow off to her side, she wrapped it around her the back of head in order to cover her ears. But her improvised earmuffs did nothing to stymie the endless cacophony of meaningless noise that plagued her.

"They're still reading... I don't... I don't understand..." She muttered in agony. Holding the pillow tighter around her head as she began to cry.

...

Having finished their dinner and their homework, MC sat next to Sayori on the floor of the living room. "I have no idea what I'm gonna write about."

"Me, neither!" Sayori happily replied.

"Have you written poems before?" MC asked, shifting his weight to get more comfortable as he leaned back against the living room coffee table.

Following his movements and resting her elbow on the table as well, Sayori shook her head. "Nope... At least I don't think so."

"What do you mean?" MC asked, curious at what she meant.

"Well..." Sayori began, trying to get the words together in her head before continuing to speak. "Well, think of it like this." She said as she shifted back onto her knees and scooted closer to MC. "Monika told me that what makes a poem a poem is rhythm, and I don't know if any of the other things I wrote had any. Since I... Well..." Sayori stopped again. "Nevermind."

"Oh, come on." MC said as he leaned against the table with his elbow and rested his chin on his arm. "You can tell me anything, Sayori. Let's hear it."

Sitting so close to him that she could feel his body heat emanating off of him, Sayori looked off to the side in embarrassment before MC gave her a playful nudge for her to start talking. "It's just that... I've never shared any of my writing with anyone else before. So I'm kinda... nervous."

"There's nothing wrong with that." MC said as he shrugged his shoulders. "You heard Yuri and Natsuki, both of them are nervous about sharing their poems tomorrow too. They just show it in different ways." MC smiled at Sayori as he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "There's no shame in being nervous about a new experience."

Shifting somewhat so she could get even closer to him than she already was, Sayori looked into MC's eyes and then down at his mouth as she opened hers slightly. "A new experience, huh...?"

"Of course, everything is new for everyone at some point or another." He replied, looking past Sayori as she leaned forward a little. MC noticed the time on the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "It's getting pretty late, want me to walk you home?"

"Oh! Um..." Sayori blurted out as she snapped out of her daze. "Sure! Let's go!" She said while MC helped her to her feet.

...

"See you tomorrow, MC!" Sayori shouted to him after he dropped her off at her home down the street.

Waving goodbye in a friendly manner, MC watched as Sayori entered her house and closed the door before he turned around to head back home.

As he walked down the street, he looked up to see a few lonely stars up above him.

Thinking back to when his parents took him out on a trip to the countryside when he was a kid, he thought about the ocean of stars that filled the darkness of the night sky.

Feeling inspiration come to him, MC smiled. "I know what I'm gonna write about."

...

Plopping down in bed after she changed out of her uniform and took off her bow, Sayori let out a lethargic breath.

Looking around the room as the side of her head rested on her pillow, she spotted a picture frame on her desk that was somewhat obscured by a shirt sleeve hanging over it.

Getting out of bed, Sayori walked over to her desk and brushed the shirt sleeve off of the frame. Smiling as she held up the picture, Sayori reminisced about the trip she and MC took to the boardwalk over the summer a few years ago.

In the picture, Sayori had her arms wrapped around MC's stomach as he flexed with his right arm, while holding a sledgehammer triumphantly in his left. In front of them, sat the prize that he won for her that Sayori treasured so much, Mr. Cow.

Holding the picture in her hand, Sayori dragged her wheeled desk chair behind her as she made her way back to bed.

Sitting back down on the mattress, Sayori turned the chair around and placed the picture down on the seat, pushing the back of the frame out so it could stand on its own.

Pulling the chair closer to her so that the picture was right next to her face as she rested her head back down on the pillow. Sayori felt a little bit happier as she began to drift off to sleep.

...

Natsuki awoke in bed with a start as she heard the front door slam open. Clutching her teddy bear until her knuckles went white, she laid as still as humanly possible as she heard loud footsteps get closer and closer.

Doing her best to calm her breathing to make it seem like she was really asleep, she tensed up as she heard the footsteps stop at her door. Whimpering slightly, she began to mentally prepare herself for what she expected to come next.

But after what seemed like an eternity, the footsteps began to move again and soon grew more distant. Until eventually she heard a door open and the sound of an exhausted body hitting a mattress.

Releasing the iron grip that she had on her bear, she was able to relax fully after she started to hear some snoring from the other room.

Closing her eyes to go back to sleep, Natsuki let out a relieved sigh as she felt herself grow less and less tense.

She liked it when Papa was too tired for anything.


	6. Head Over Heels

Sayori slowly opened her eyes, half of her vision obstructed by the white pillow she was resting her head on. Shifting her head slightly, she removed the obstacle from her line of sight.

The first thing she saw as the blurriness of sleep left her eyes, was the picture of herself and MC at the boardwalk. Smiling at the sight of it, she reached out and lifted it off the chair she had placed it on.

Holding the picture above herself with outstretched arms, Sayori stared at the picture, feeling content as she looked over to the clock on her desk.

Noticing the time, Sayori felt absolutely jubilant. She had managed to get up all by herself, and she still had plenty of time to get ready before MC arrived to come get her.

Sayori thought to herself for a moment, if she managed to get dressed and ready before MC arrived, he would be super surprised. "He's going to be so proud of me!" She happily said to herself, lowering the picture frame and holding it tightly to her chest.

"I already am." She heard someone in the room say.

Jumping slightly at the sound of an unexpected voice, Sayori looked over to the entrance of her room and saw MC standing in the doorframe.

"Oh... Um... H-Hi, MC." A slight blush broke out across her face, feeling a bit embarrassed for not only not noticing him, but also from being overheard talking about him.

"Good morning, Sayori." MC greeted in return, walking over to her.

Glancing quickly at the clock again, Sayori noticed that they had a little over two hours before they had to leave for school. "You're thirty minutes early, MC. Why'd you come over so early?"

Plopping down on the end of the bed, MC chuckled. "What? You're not happy to see-"

"Of course I am!" Sayori shouted, interrupting MC before he could even joke about something like that. "I'm always happy to see you."

"I just..." She paused as she stared over at him, thinking about how handsome he always looked. "I just wondered why you came over early, that's all."

"Fair enough." MC said. "I just wanted to see my favorite person in the whole wide world."

"F-Favorite... huh...?" Sayori shyly repeated, rubbing her feet together under her blanket.

Noticing the movement, MC poked at the yellow blanket. "What's wrong?"

"Oh! Um..." Sayori thumbed at the corners of the picture frame she was still holding. "My feet are cold."

"Well I certainly can't allow my best buddy to get frostbite on her toes. How will we walk to school together?" MC asked, with concern painted on his face. "Here, I have a solution."

Gripping the blanket, MC deftly tossed the long piece of fabric off of Sayori. Before she had a chance to react, he grabbed ahold of her left ankle, placing his thumb and pointer finger on her big toe.

"What are you doing, silly?" Sayori asked. Giggling a bit while she placed her picture frame back onto the chair next to the bed.

"Warming you up." MC answered as he wiggled her big toe. "This little piggy went to market."

Sayori snorted in amusement. "How old are you, MC?"

Ignoring her question, MC continued down to her long toe. "This little piggy stayed home." He said as it wiggled.

"This little piggy had roast beef." MC said while he wiggled Sayori's middle toe.

Bringing her hand up to stifle her laughter at her best friend's antics, he gripped her ring toe and wiggled it as well. "This little piggy had none."

"And this little piggy cried..." Moving onto her final toe, the pinky, MC smiled devilishly as he looked directly into Sayori's eyes as her arms laid at her sides.

"Wee wee wee, all the way home!" He shouted as he sprung up onto his knees on top of the bed. Sayori squealed in glee as he started tickling her leg and moved up to her thigh.

Gasping slightly at his hands making contact with the soft skin of her thigh, Sayori continued to laugh as she revealed in the pleasure of both being tickled, as well as having MC's hands on her.

Relocating his fingers to her hips and going up the side of her body as he teased her, he eventually got to Sayori's tickle spot, right under her armpits.

Pausing dramatically for effect, MC tickled her as hard as he possibly could as Sayori laughed so hard that she had tears in her eyes.

"Oh my God!" She yelled as she laughed and squirmed in his arms. "Stop, MC! That's too much!"

Finally stopping his tickle barrage, MC sat right in front of her on the bed. "Feeling warmer?"

"Yeah." She responded, wiping the corners of her eyes."Thanks, MC. I really needed that..."

Her voice trailed off, her mind clear now that she was fully awake and not laughing, Sayori noticed just how close MC was to her.

Staring up at him with sky blue eyes, Sayori's breathing began to grow heavy.

As MC looked at her with his auburn eyes, he noticed that her pajama top had fallen down her left shoulder. "Here, let me get that for you."

While MC reached over to fix Sayori's shirt for her, Sayori leaned forward a little bit.

Delicately gripping the cotton fabric of the shirt, MC slowly shifted the cloth back onto Sayori's shoulder. The back of his finger rubbing against her collarbone as he did so.

"Hey... MC..." Sayori whispered, not taking her eyes off of his face the entire time he was fixing her clothes.

MC turned his face back towards hers. "Yes, Say-"

His words were cut off by Sayori pressing her lips to his.

Wrapping her arms around his back, Sayori leaned deeper into the kiss as she held the back of his head with her right hand.

The glass of the window behind Sayori's bed creaked as MC placed his hand on it to support himself and avoid falling on top of Sayori.

Realizing what she had just done, Sayori pulled back from her kiss and let go of MC. "I-I'm sorry, MC." Looking down at her hands as she shamefully wrung them together, she repeated herself. "I'm so sorry."

Before she had a chance to continue, she felt MC's strong hand under her chin. Raising her head up so they could stare into each other's eyes, MC smiled at her. "For what?"

As he leaned towards her for another kiss, Sayori beamed as she pulled him in faster.

Their tongues exploring one another's mouths as they gently palmed at one another.

Feeling MC's back muscles under his shirt, Sayori took in every nook and cranny of his rock hard body.

Sayori glanced over to the clock on her desk as MC slowly undid the buttons on her pajama top.

They still had plenty of time before they had to leave for school; then again, neither of them really minded if they were late today.

...

Sayori awoke with a start, the first thing filling her vision being the the picture of her and MC, still resting next to her on a chair.

Staring up at the ceiling, she sighed with disappointment. "I woke up before the best part... again..."

"Best part of what?" MC asked as he leaned over her.

Her eyes opening wide, Sayori let out a surprised yelp as she quickly shot up ramrod straight in bed.

Shocked by her yell, MC was unable to get out of the way fast enough, and Sayori slammed her forehead into his chin at high speed.

Getting knocked back by Sayori's hard head, MC stumbled backwards, but managed to stop his momentum by grabbing ahold of the closet next to Sayori's bed.

Crying out loudly, Sayori held her forehead with both hands after the collision. "Owowowowow..."

After regaining his balance, MC straightened out his blazer and then sat down on the bed next to Sayori. Gently taking her hands in his and lowering them to her side. "It's okay, Sayori. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have leaned over you like that." MC apologized as he tenderly lifted up Sayori's bangs so he could take a look at her forehead.

"W-What about you?" Sayori winced. "Are you okay?"

Removing his right hand from Sayori's head while his left still held up her hair, MC painfully rubbed his chin. Opening his mouth a few times to make sure he didn't dislocate anything. "Yeah, I'm fine. How are you?"

"My forehead... It hurts..." Sayori sorely answered. "But... I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have jumped up like that."

"It's not your fault, Sayori." MC cooed. "You wouldn't have expect me to suddenly appear above you, anyone would have reacted the same way."

"I guess..." Sayori half heartedly agreed, thinking back to her dream while MC continued to take a look at her.

Bringing his right hand back up to her face, MC brushed Sayori's bangs to the side and saw a large red bump beginning to form on the center of her forehead. Sympathetically wincing at her pain, MC stood up. "I'm gonna go find you some ice, wait right here please."

Turning around, Sayori watched MC's back as he left the room. Painfully holding her head, she grimaced as she accidently touched the bump on her forehead.

"Oh!" Sayori exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. "I forgot to write my poem last night..."

...

"I'm back." MC announced as he entered Sayori's bedroom, holding up a towel wrapped around some ice cubes.

"You didn't have to do that, MC." Sayori said, still holding her forehead with her right hand. "I'm fine with... looking like a unicorn."

Smiling with concern clearly evident on his face, MC sat back down on the bed. "Well, I'm glad to see our little accident didn't knock your sense of humor out of you."

Gingerly lifting up Sayori's coral pink hair, MC gently pressed the bundle of ice up to the bump on her head.

As the cold towel made contact with her skin, Sayori let out a quiet whimper. "It hurts..."

"I know, but it'll help keep the swelling down." MC reassuringly exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Sayori." MC said as he held the ice against her, moving his left hand over to Sayori's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It's fine now. Do you know why?"

Sayori smiled, knowing exactly what he was going to say. "Because you're here?"

Patting her on the shoulder, MC's grin widened. "I'm glad that you haven't forgotten."

"I could never forget." Sayori whimsically said, wringing her hands together. "This reminds you of growing up, doesn't it...?"

MC nodded in the affirmative as she continued to reminisce. "Playing outside all the time... I always tried to keep up with you. I wasn't able to, of course. Even back then, you were so strong." Sayori gripped his bicep and squeezed.

Glancing down at her hand around his arm, MC looked back up at her and flexed a little, causing Sayori to gleefully giggle before continuing. "But you were always there for me, you still are." Sayori began rubbing MC's bicep. "Whenever I tried to do something that I couldn't, and I ended up getting myself hurt. Like falling and getting a scrape, or getting a bump..." Sayori tapped the side of her head for emphasis.

"And I would start crying really hard." Sayori laughed at the memory. "And you would rush over as quickly as you could. You would do everything you could to help me and get me to stop crying." Sayori laughed a little harder now. "I remember that you'd always carry different sized bandaids with you just incase I got hurt." She moved her hand down from his bicep and placed her hand over his. "You're always thinking about other people. Even after all these years... You're rushing to help me, even though I was just being clumsy."

Interlacing their fingers together, a blush formed on Sayori's cheeks. "You really are a sweetheart..."

Adjusting his grip on the ice, MC cleared his throat. "Thanks, Sayori. But I wouldn't go that far." MC said, trying to dismiss the compliment as his face grew a little red as well. "It's just that... It feels like common sense to help someone that's hurt or in trouble. It just kinda feels natural, know what I mean?"

Rubbing his hand with her thumb, Sayori's body felt hot, despite the ice being held against her head. "I'm so glad that nothing's changed between us." Sayori moved her head slightly, causing MC to shift slightly so that he could keep the ice against the injured spot on her forehead.

Sayori stared at the picture on her chair wistfully. "Do you think we'll be like this forever?"

"Of course, Sayori!" MC answered her the moment the question left her mouth. "In fact, I think that each and every day that we spend together brings us a little bit closer." Lowering the ice to take a look at her forehead, MC smiled at the sight of the reduced size of the bump. "I'm honored to have your friendship, Sayori."

"I'm so happy..." Sayori responded. She had a whimsical expression in her eyes, one that MC didn't quite recognize. "I know that was silly to ask... But... I just wanted to know what you thought." Taking another look at his lips, she could feel her heart begin to beat faster as she began to measure the short distance between their mouths. "...I just wish that I had your confidence."

"Well..." MC began. "Confidence is my given name, after all."

Sayori scoffed at his statement. "No, it's not! It's Cho-"

Before she could utter his given name, MC dropped the ice he was holding in his right hand and placed his forefinger against Sayori's lips. "Please don't, Sayori. You know how I feel about my name."

Pouting a bit as his finger rested against her mouth, Sayori let go of his hand and placed her finger up against MC's lips in retaliation.

Sitting with their fingers against each other's mouths in silence, they both did their best to keep a straight face, but the two friends both began to crack smiles.

Laughing as he stood up, MC offered Sayori a hand. "Here let me help you out of bed."

"I'm okay." Sayori said as she threw her covers off of herself and jumped to her feet.

"A-Aaahh!" She cried out, beginning to fall.

"I got you!" MC exclaimed as he grabbed ahold of Sayori's waist and back, holding her tightly.

As she looked up at him, MC had a worried expression on his face. "Please, Sayori. Don't get up so fast after you just hurt your head."

"S-Sorry..." Sayori embarrassedly muttered.

As MC looked over at the clock, Sayori glanced down at his hand around her waist and beamed giddily.

Letting go of Sayori's waist, but still holding onto her back to keep her steady, MC gazed down at her. "Will you be okay enough to get dressed?"

"I think so." Sayori responded, feeling slightly dizzy.

"Okay." MC replied, letting go of her back. "I'll be right outside your door if you need anything."

"H-Huh?!" Sayori exclaimed. "Y-You'll be standing right outside while I'm..." Her face turned a bright red at the thought of him being so close to her as she got changed.

"Hey." MC began. "Give me some credit here. I would never peak on someone." He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Just give me a shout if you feel like you're gonna fall, alright?"

"I-I wasn't thinking about that!" Sayori stammered out.

"Of course, Sayori." MC said as he walked out of the room.

Before he was able to close the door, Sayori called out to him. "Hey!"

With the door about halfway closed, MC poked his head back in. "Yes? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Sayori replied. "I just..." She looked away from MC for a moment. "I just wanted to thank you for... always taking such great care of me."

Smiling with a nod, MC started to close the door. "It's my pleasure. But don't sell yourself short, Sayori. You help me quite a lot, too."

Before she could ask him how she helped him, MC gently closed the door.

With the door finally shut, Sayori looked at the finger she had pressed up against MC's mouth.

Feeling the same warmness she had felt in her dream, as well as when he was so close to her while he was holding the ice up against her forehead. Sayori slowly brought the finger up to her lips.


	7. Reflections

Yuri stared into the illustrated eye on the cover of the new copy of Portrait of Markov that she had purchased yesterday. Tapping her fingers against the novel's spine, she took a deep breath and swallowed her nerves before turning around. "H-Hi, MC!"

"I... Um..." She looked back down at the book cover before bringing her head up again. "Yesterday, y-you said that you read a few horror novels. And I know that you said they were all spooky and stuff, but..."

She paused to take another deep breath to help herself calm down, and to try and think of what to say next. "Well... Um... I was wondering if you'd l-like to read this one...?" Yuri held out the gift in front of her as her voice began to trail off.

"And... maybe we could..." She shyly stared off to the side while she still held the book out, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "Discuss it to-together..."

She took a peek out from under her bangs. "If you'd l-like to... of c-course..."

Staring at her, the only reaction Yuri's cat had was to plop down onto its side, beckoning Yuri to pet his long body.

"No good, huh?" Yuri asked, smiling sadly. Running her long, slender fingers through her cat's black fur.

As she listened to him purr, Yuri began to re-evaluate her approach to giving MC her gift.

"Maybe I should just put it in his shoe locker..." Yuri mumbled to herself, scratching her cat's chin.

"No!" She yelled out, chastising herself. "I need to... follow Dr. Alexander's advice."

Thinking her approach over, Yuri walked over to her work desk and opened up her laptop. She muttered to herself as she typed into the search bar. "What to do when you are nervous about talking to..."

Yuri found her words caught in her throat as she read the text of the autocompleted search suggestion. "You're c-cr-crush..."

Shaking the blush off of her face, Yuri continued to type what she originally intended to. "Someone." Hitting search she began to read some of the automatically compiled suggestions.

Feeling her cat rub up against her legs as she sat at her desk, Yuri absentmindedly began petting his head as she read aloud. "When you're nervous about talking to someone or in front of a crowd, simply picture whoever you're talking to in their und-"

Feeling her blush return tenfold, Yuri began stammering out the rest of the word on her computer screen. "U-Un... Under... U-Underwear...?!"

Slamming her computer shut, Yuri felt as if her face was on fire. "I-I couldn't... I-I wouldn't... p-picture M-MC in his..."

As she tried to speak, she felt her heartbeat grow faster and faster, her mind becoming awash in far too many emotions to think clearly.

Standing up from her desk, Yuri tried her best to think about something else. "Sch-School! I'll... I'll just get ready for school."

Beginning to make her bed, her cat leapt up on top of the mattress and began chasing the blankets that Yuri was fixing.

Usually, Yuri would laugh and play along with his feline antics. But as she tried to concentrate on her bed making, the image of MC's muscular body in nothing more than a pair of boxer shorts kept plaguing her.

The thought of him seeped into her mind, making its way through the gaps between all of her other thoughts.

"A-A cold shower, th-that'll... that'll..." Yuri attempted to come up with a solution to the idea that was exciting her, seemingly always in the periphery of her thoughts, regardless of what she tried to think of.

Feeling herself begin to grow unable to think of anything besides MC's body, Yuri felt as if there was a growing pressure within her head.

She needed a way to release it, she knew how to release it.

Looking over to her bookshelf, among all the novels she had collected and read throughout the years, sat an intricately decorated silver knife, with etchings of waves among the handle.

Walking over to the bookshelf and taking the beautiful knife in her hand, Yuri stared into the gentle blue tint of the blade. And rolled up her sleeve.

...

Feeling the sensation of her phone vibrating under her pillow, Natsuki slid her hand underneath the pastel pink cushion and turned the alarm off.

Listening to her surroundings, she could hear that there was no one else in the house, Papa had to get up early for work, afterall.

Content that she was alone, Natsuki threw her matching pink blanket off of herself to begin the process of getting ready for school.

As her feet made contact with the cold floor, Natsuki tried to lift herself up out of bed, but the sight before her made her weak in the knees.

Her door, a pure white piece of wood decorated with cute painted figures and Natsuki's name on the exterior, was gone, unscrewed from its hinges.

As she stared at the empty doorframe, Natsuki tried to think of what she could have possibly done to upset Papa.

"The house is clean..." She said to herself, counting on her fingers to make a mental checklist of what she may done to lose her privacy privileges.

At the thought of privacy, Natsuki suddenly realized what she had done wrong. "Papa doesn't like it when doors are closed..." She muttered, bringing her knees up to her chest to get her bare feet off of the freezing floor.

...

Monika blankly stared up at the off-white ceiling of her livingroom, regaining her focus as she felt the endless void of noise begin to retreat into the far reaches of her mind.

"Must've fallen asleep." Monika said to herself, throwing the pillow she had used to press up against both of her ears to the other side of the room.

Slowly lifting herself up on the couch, Monika got onto her knees to reach behind the furniture and retrieve her white ribbon.

Gripping it in her hand, she shifted to sit back on her behind, her stocking covered feet making contact with the floor.

Standing up as she tied her coral brown hair in a ponytail, Monika walked up to the calendar on her wall. Pulling a red pen out of her blazer, she clicked the small heart on top of the writing utensil to extend the point out of its plastic sleeve.

With two quick, dismissive swipes, Monika crossed out the past day. Clicking the pen again, she placed it back into her blazer pocket.

Counting the days as she stared at the bland calendar, Monika pressed her finger to Monday, tracing around the sloppy circular marking she had made several weeks ago after looking into the hole in her wall.

Just barely parting her lips so that her words could escape her mouth, Monika gently whispered. "Just six more days..."

...

Entering the bathroom closest to her room, Natsuki removed her flannel pajamas that were decorated with little cats playing with equally small strawberries. Folding her clothes, she laid them down on the counter next to the sink.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Natsuki tried to manage a weak smile at her reflection, but failed to do so. The large bruise on her right forearm was nearly gone, but smaller marks were sprinkled throughout her body.

Covering her small breasts with both of her hands, she slid her hands down her body. Her fingers making contact with each of her ribs as she made her way down to her slightly swollen gut. Feeling pain as she pressed onto her belly.

Looking herself over one final time, Natsuki turned around and stepped into the shower. Staring up at the showerhead, she sighed as she wrapped her fingers around the faucet. Tensing her body up as she rotated the handle clockwise, she felt a surge of cold water spray onto her body.

Gasping as the freezing water made contact with her pale skin, she turned around to allow the liquid to pelt her entire body.

Turning back around, Natsuki turned the shower back off once she was all wet. Holding herself as she began to shiver, she reached out and picked up the lone bar of soap from the shelf next to her.

Lathering up the white rectangular bar, Natsuki placed it back down where it belonged and started to clean her entire body. Covering herself from her face to her toes in white, sudsy bubbles, she reached out to grip the shower faucet again with her eyes shut to avoid getting soap in them.

Finally grabbing ahold of of the handle, she turned it on once again to feel the cold water run down her body and remove the soap from her body.

Turning the shower off for the day, Natsuki stepped out onto the bathroom floor. The cold air of the room and the freezing floor making Natsuki even more uncomfortable than she was when the water was assailing her senses.

Holding her arms close to her body as her teeth chattered, she stared back into the mirror. Managing to make a weak smile as her body shook, she reached out and wrapped her pink towel around her body.

At least she was clean. If she wasn't clean she wouldn't even be able to respect herself. And if she couldn't respect herself, then no one would.

...

"You don't have to walk me the whole way like this." Sayori shyly said, her arm interlaced with MC's as they walked to school together.

"True, but I want to." MC replied, carrying both of their school bags in his right hand.

"...Okay." Sayori whispered, enjoying the contact between them.

"Besides, I'd never forgive myself if you fell and got hurt." MC said, glancing down at Sayori on his left side.

"If that happened, I'd probably have to carry you to school." MC joked. "And I know how you feel about that."

"What?!" Sayori gasped, turning her head up to look at MC. "I don't mind being carried!"

"Really?" MC questioned. "But you hate it when I pick you up."

"Well that's..." Sayori began, starting to feel a bit flustered. "That's just because you lift me so high up."

Still staring at him, Sayori continued. "I wouldn't mind if..." She began nervously playing with a few strands of her hair with her left hand. "If you carried me..." Her voice trailed off to little more than a whisper. "Against your chest... or something..."

"Good to know." MC nodded, unable to hear the last part of her statement. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"Yeah." Sayori agreed.

"How's your head feel?" MC asked, concern laced throughout his voice.

"It's okay." Sayori replied, gently rubbing her forehead, but still wincing slightly when her fingers made contact with the sore spot.

"Happy to hear it." MC said at the news. "But if it's okay with you, I'd at least like to walk you to your first class to make sure you get settled alright."

Quickly turning her head to look back up at MC, Sayori nervously cleared her throat. "T-To my first class?! Bu-But MC, if we're seen walking like this through school. People will stare at us and think we're a... a..."

Waiting for her to finish her thought, MC met her gaze. "A what, Sayori?"

Unable to look him in the eyes as she said it, she tightened her grip on his forearm before continuing with a pout. "A... couple... or something..."

"Oh, is that all?" MC asked. "Well, I wouldn't mind that."

"HUH?!" Sayori blurted out, her eyes nearly the size of dinner plates after hearing what he had just said. "Y-You r-really mean that?"

"Of course." MC responded. "What you think is far more important to me than the opinions of a bunch of strangers. If some people neither of us know think we're dating just because I'm helping my best friend, that doesn't bother me in the slightest."

"O-Oh..." Sayori breathed out. "That's what you meant..."

Feeling disappointed, she let out a quiet sigh. Sayori felt like just curling up into a ball and laying on the ground for the rest of the day.

"Besides." She heard MC start to say, sliding his arm out from her grasp and wrapping it around her back, bringing her into a close side hug. "Whoever's worthy enough to have you as their girlfriend would be the luckiest guy in the whole wide world."

Feeling a smile begin to tug at her lips, Sayori beamed. She had so much that she wanted to say to him, but she settled for wrapping her arms around him tightly as she pressed the side of her face into his large pectoral muscle. With a smushed face, Sayori gazed up her best friend. "Thanks, MC."

...

Walking Sayori into her first class of the day, MC helped her sit down at her desk as other students in the classroom stared at them.

"How're you feeling, Sayori?" MC asked, placing her school bag's handle into the small hook on the side of the desk.

"I'm fine, MC. Really." She said, looking up at him from her desk.

"Alright." He replied. "I'll be back to walk you to your next class. So just wait for me here, okay?"

"But our next classes are on the opposite sides of the whole school!" Sayori blurted out, seeing everyone else in the room whispering about the two of them. "I don't wanna make you late." Looking down at her lap, she shook her head as she looked back up at MC. "I don't wanna be a burden."

Kneeling down so that he was about eye level with her, MC smiled kindly at her. "Hey, hey." He tenderly brushed a few locks of her hair to the side so that he could see her forehead. "You could never be a burden Sayori. You're my friend, and this is what friends do for each other."

"B-But..." Sayori began, looking back at everyone that was talking about them.

"Besides, walking you to class couldn't make me late." MC confidently pointed at himself with a thumbs up motion. "I'm quite confident in my speed, you know."

"Alrighty..." Was all that Sayori managed to say.

"Alrighty." MC echoed, patting Sayori on the shoulder before standing back up. "I'll see you later, Sayori. 'Kay?"

"Okie Dokie." Sayori nodded back. "Seeya later."

Sayori stared at MC's broad shoulders as he walked out of the classroom and waved at her before disappearing from her line of sight.

Sitting quietly for a moment, Sayori then lifted up her school bag and unclasped the straps to take out her notebook.

Overhearing the other students in the room begin to make up rumors about her and MC put a knot in her stomach.

As she tapped her bright blue pencil against her notebook, she tried to distract herself by doodling. She didn't like people that spread rumors, that was something bullies did.

Drawing one of the few things that made her feel genuinely happy, Sayori made a small chibi style doodle of MC. Giggling to herself as she looked at the little version of her big best friend, she wrote the initials MC over his head.

Tapping the eraser of her pencil onto her bottom lip, Sayori then drew a chibi version of herself standing next to MC, holding his hand while wearing a bright smile on her face. Above her head she wrote her own initials, HS, and then put a plus sign between their two names. Then, putting the finishing touch onto her doodle, Sayori drew a heart around the two of them.

Smiling as she looked at her completed doodle, Sayori suddenly remembered that she still needed to write her poem for club later today. Flipping to the next page, she brainstormed for a bit before starting to write her poem.

Hearing the teacher start to speak, Sayori absentmindedly paid attention to his lecture as she continued writing her poem.

"Alright, class." She heard him say. "I hope everyone studied for tomorrow's test."

Her pencil point broke as she applied too much pressure onto her writing utensil. Hearing the rest of the class groan at the prospect of tomorrow's test, Sayori looked up to the front of her classroom with a worried expression on her face.

...

While making her way to her final class of the day, Yuri heard a loud gasp from behind her. "Hello, Yuri~"

Hearing Monika's voice startled her as she turned around to greet her fellow club member. "H-Hi... Monika..."

"Are you looking forward to sharing poems today?" Monika asked, before immediately answering her own question. "Because I am! I'm so happy that we're able to do something like this as a club." She happily said, before adding on something she remembered. "Especially with our new member!"

"Y-Yeah..." Yuri quietly agreed. Yuri smiled a bit, happy that MC was in their club as well.

"Are you reading that book again?" Monika asked, pointing to Yuri's open bag.

"H-Huh?!" Yuri looked down at her bag. "O-Oh... Um... N-No, I'm not..."

"Really?" Monika responded. "Then why-"

Stopping herself short of asking Yuri a question, Monika's eyes lit up and a huge smile graced her features. "You got it for MC! Didn't you?!"

"Wha- W-W-What?!" Yuri asked, feeling her hands begin to sweat. "W-Why do you... s-say th-that...?"

"Cause you were asking what he likes to read yesterday, silly!" Monika answered. "So it only makes sense~"

While Yuri continued to stammer, Monika leaned closer to Yuri and whispered in her ear. "Say~ Do you have a crush on him, Yuri?"

Her voice finding itself lost in her throat, all Yuri could do was stand there with a partially opened mouth as her face turned into a shade of bright red.

"You should totally ask him out, Yuri!" Monika continued. "I mean, take it at your own pace, of course. But you should definitely give him that book after club today." She gave Yuri a wink. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you two get the room to yourself."

"I-I..." Was Yuri all managed to say before Monika kept offering romance advice.

"But you should definitely let him know you're interested in him, I don't know if he's still single, but you should act quick." Monika paused for a moment to think. "Just tell him you think he's handsome, Yuri. What's the worst that could happen?"

"H-He could..." She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "He could... h-hear me..."

"Oh..." Monika responded, a worried expression on her face. "Yuri if you need to tal-"

Before she finished her sentence, Monika noticed the hall clock out of the corner of her eye. "Uh-Oh! There's only about five minutes before our next classes begin."

Turning her attention back towards Yuri, Monika began to make her way to the end of the hall. "My last period is a study hall, but I don't want you to be late for your class on my account. Seeya later, Yuri!" Monika happily waved.

Nodding back at her, Yuri offered Monika a far more reserved wave. "B-Bye..."

As she saw Monika walk to the end of the hall, Yuri let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't been mentally prepared to see Monika so unexpectedly.

Yuri had especially been unprepared for Monika's questions regarding her feelings about MC.

Looking over to the ladies' washroom further down the hall in the direction of her class, Yuri rubbed her fingers against her sweaty palms, deciding to go and wash up before class.

...

Entering the women's washroom, Yuri walked over to the row of sinks and turned on the water. Letting the water run over her clammy hands, she looked up at the mirror and noticed a full bucket of water in the corner of the room.

Ignoring the bucket, Yuri turned off the faucet and picked her bag back up. But as she was about to leave, Yuri felt anxious over Monika's excitement about her present to MC.

"I-I'll just do some square breathing." Yuri muttered. Walking over to a stall near the end of the washroom for some privacy. Removing her balzer and hanging it up on a hook in the stall, Yuri sat down on the toilet seat and began breathing.

Inhaling for four seconds, Yuri opened up her bag to look at the copy of Portrait of Markov that was intended for MC. Holding her breath in for another four seconds, she opened the book up to a random page in the middle of the book and lovingly felt the pages. Exhaling for eight seconds, Yuri felt herself calm down a little. "Maybe... Maybe, Monika's right..."

Hearing a knock at the stall door caused Yuri to jump slightly. "O-Occupied." She stammered out.

Wiping her forehead after being startled, she looked back down at the book in her hands. "I... I should give it to him." She awkwardly smiled to herself.

As she tenderly turned the page, she heard a knock at her stall once again. Opening her mouth to let whoever was outside the door know that it was occupied, before she had a chance to speak she heard someone yell from outside the stall. "Edgy bitch!"

Shocked at the insult, Yuri froze where she sat as she felt water get thrown on her from outside the stall. "A-Ahh..."

Hearing something metal hit the floor outside, and several people running out of the bathroom while laughing, Yuri looked at her soaking wet clothes. Tugging at her sleeves, she tried to wring out some of the water.

As she did so, she accidently knocked her school bag off of her lap and onto the floor, looking down at the ground, she saw that the book she wanted to give to MC was completely soaked with water.

Yuri felt her entire body begin to shake as she leaned over to pick the book up off the wet ground. Thumbing at the pages, they were ruined, absorbing a massive amount of water the moment it had hit Yuri and her belongings.

Closing the book with an audible squish, Yuri stared into the illustrated eye on the cover of the now water damaged copy of Portrait of Markov. The eye appeared as if it was crying, and as Yuri's fingers shook against the novel's spine, she watched as her own tears fell upon the book.


	8. Warmth

Having dropped Sayori off at her final class of the day, MC was making his way down the main hallway of the second floor.

Walking past the many branching halls, MC slowed down a bit as he turned his head towards the sound of laughter.

Witnessing three girls run out of the women's bathroom, MC stopped in his tracks as they stood in front of the entrance. They all quieted down and looked at each other before bursting out into laughter again.

"C'mon, this way!" One of the girls yelled, before taking off down the hall away from MC. The other two quickly following after her.

A little curious as to what that could have been about, MC glanced down the hall towards the classroom he was heading to, he then took a look up at the hall clock. Seeing that he only had about three minutes before the start of class, he mulled over whether he should bother seeing what all the hubbub was about.

Deciding that it was best to get to class on time, MC continued his way towards class.

But before he even took five steps, he turned around and started quickly marching down the hall, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Reaching the women's washroom, MC looked around the entrance to try and ascertain what those girls were laughing about. He didn't see, smell, or hear anything. So MC assumed that they all must have just been telling each other jokes or something.

Turning back around to make his way to class, MC froze in place as he finally heard something. The sound of weak crying could just barely be heard coming from inside the bathrooms.

"Hello?" MC called out into the washroom. "Are you okay in there?"

The crying only quietly continued, whoever was in there was unlikely to have heard him over their own tears.

MC thought about what he should do. He couldn't go and get Sayori, since she was already in class, but he couldn't just walk into the women's restroom.

"Hey, can you hear me?" MC asked, but the sobbing had only intensified while he was outside.

His grip tightening around the handle of his school bag, MC looked around the hall to make sure no one was around, and entered the bathroom.

...

Yuri held the water damaged copy of Portrait of Markov against her chest, gently rocking herself back and forth.

Hearing another knock on the stall door, Yuri shouted out to whoever was outside. "G-Go away!"

"Yuri? Is that you?" She heard come from the other side of the door. "Are you okay?"

"M-MC?!" Yuri called out, ceasing her rocking the moment she heard his voice. "Wha-What are you doing h-here?"

"I'm sorry. I just heard crying and I thought that someone may be hurt." He explained. "I'll... I'll just be going then."

Hearing him begin to walk away, Yuri's grip tightened around the wet book. "Wait!"

MC stopped moving, a brief silence filling the room as he waited for Yuri to continue.

Sniffling as she took a deep breath, Yuri spoke. "P-Please... Please don't leave me alone..."

"Don't worry, I won't." MC replied as he walked back to the stall door, leaning against the wall.

"What happened, Yuri?" He asked, looking down at the pooling water outside the door.

MC didn't hear her answer, the only sound that filled the room was that of Yuri's stall door being unlocked.

Swallowing as he pushed himself back off the wall, MC gently opened the door.

MC gasped as he saw Yuri. Placing his bag down off to the side, MC knelt down and grasped her wet shoulders. "Yuri, what happened?"

"MC..." Yuri blubbered out, beginning to cry again. "I-I-I-"

"It's fine now, Yuri." MC interrupted her by pulling her into a tight hug. "Do you know why?"

Feeling his powerful hands rub her quivering back, Yuri shook her head against his broad shoulder.

"Because I am here." He whispered into her ear.

Her shaking hands slowly wrapped themselves around his back, her fingers interlacing delicately, as she leaned into him and started to sob.

...

Once Yuri had stopped crying, MC pulled back from their hug. Yuri reluctantly letting go of him.

Bringing his hands up to her face, MC brushed aside some of Yuri's wet hair. "Do you want to get out of here?"

Yuri wordlessly nodded her head.

"Alright." MC replied, standing back up and offering Yuri his hand. "Here, let me help you up."

Taking his hand, MC slowly pulled Yuri off of the toilet. "There we go."

"Th-Thank... you..." Yuri said.

"Don't thank me yet, Yuri." MC responded, bending over to begin picking up Yuri's things. "We need to get you dried off first."

Grabbing ahold of both of their school bags, MC shifted both to his left hand as he picked up a wet book with an ominous looking eye on the cover.

While MC stood back up, Yuri retrieved her blazer from the hook on the side of the wall. MC turned over the book in his hands, water dripping from the novel and onto the floor.

"This looks interesting." MC said, admiring the illustrated cover.

Hearing that made Yuri lower her head and sulk.

Transferring their bags under his left arm, MC opened the book and felt the pages. "Hmm... It's pretty soaked through." Yuri grimaced even more as she heard that.

Closing the book, MC playfully tapped the novel against Yuri's shoulder. "Don't look so glum, chum. I think I'll be able to save it."

Yuri's eyes immediately lit up as she raised her head. "Really?!"

Walking towards MC, he instinctively backed up out of surprise. Accidently hitting the stall door with his elbow, his back pressed up against the now shut door as Yuri closed the distance between them.

"You can really do that, MC?!" She excitedly asked, barely a centimeter of space in between them while she looked up into his eyes.

Clearing his throat, MC nodded. "Um... Yeah, I... I think so."

He returned Yuri's gaze. Her wet, purple hair clung to her face and accentuated her pale skin and lavender eyes.

A bit flustered by the situation he was in, MC continued to speak. "We just need to... Um... Yuri?"

The way she was looking at him, MC couldn't quite describe it, no one had ever looked at him like that before. Through slightly parted lips, Yuri's hot breath could be seen coming out of her cold, wet body.

MC felt something press up against his chest. Looking down, he saw that Yuri had gotten even closer to him, her breasts pressing up against his body.

The warmth from their two bodies mixing together at the point of contact was intoxicating, MC felt himself moving towards her unconsciously as his mouth opened too.

With just about thirty centimeters (1ft) between their faces, MC wrestled his mind back to the matter at hand, finally finished his sentence. "We just need to... leave the bathroom first."

"Oh!" Yuri cried out, realizing how close they were to each other as she took a step back. "I-I'm so s-sorry, MC." Placing her hands underneath her folded blazer, she turned her head to the side out of embarrassment. "I-I didn't mean to m-make it... awk-awkward..."

Shifting the book in his right hand, MC was just about as composed as she was. "It's, uh... it's no problem, Yuri."

MC took a step forward, the water splashing underneath his feet as he pushed his back off the door. Turning around to once again open the stall, he poked his head out to make sure that no one else was standing around the washroom.

"Alright, let's get going." MC said, motioning for Yuri to follow him.

...

Following MC towards the exit of the women's restroom, Yuri noticed herself in the mirror through her peripheral vision.

Stopping to take a better look at herself. Yuri watched as water continued to drip off her body and the ends of her clothes, her hair, vest, dress shirt, skirt, and even her knee socks clung to her damp body.

Despondent, Yuri pulled her left hand out from under her folded blazer and removed her purple hair clip from the side of her bangs, allowing her hair to nearly cover her eyes.

"MC..." Yuri quietly squeaked out.

Hearing her call out to him, MC ceased his advance towards the exit and turned back around towards Yuri.

Slipping her hair clip into her blazer's pocket, Yuri then limply tucked her hand back underneath the only dry piece of clothing she still had. "D-Do you... think..."

Yuri stared into her reflection's eyes. "Do you think..." She lowered her head, unable to look at herself any longer. "That I'm a-a... a b-bad person...?"

"No." MC answered without a moment's hesitation. Placing their bags and Yuri's book on the countertop housing the row of sinks.

"The fact that you even asked that shows me that you're not." Yuri sheepishly glanced at MC without moving her head. "A truly bad person wouldn't care if someone else thought they were bad."

"Besides." MC began, leaning against the countertop. "I've only known you for about a day, and I think you're a pretty lovely person."

"Lovely..." Yuri whispered to herself. No one had ever called her that, feeling the word come out of her own mouth felt strange, yet really nice.

Turning towards MC, Yuri wore a squiggly smile on her face. "Th-Thank you, MC..."

"You're welcome." He replied, holding his hand out. "Here, let me carry your blazer for you."

"Bu-But... You're a-already carrying s-so much..." Yuri said.

"It's no trouble, Yuri." MC responded. "It's my pleasure."

"O-Okay..." Yuri acquiesced.

Accepting Yuri's blazer in his hand, MC's eyes shot open as he saw Yuri's sleeve. "Yuri! You're bleeding!"

"Huh?!" Yuri felt her heart stop, slowly looking down to her left sleeve she saw that her white dress shirt was stained a bright crimson.

"Here, let me see." MC said, placing her blazer on top of his school bag and beginning to close the short distance between them.

Staring into MC's concerned eyes, Yuri felt as if time was slowing down around her.

"O-Oh!" Yuri quickly shot out, taking a step back as she held her bleeding arm. "Th-that's just a... a c-cat scratch..."

"Regardless of how you got it, I still need to see it." Turning back towards his bag, MC transferred Yuri's blazer so it rested on top of her own bag and opened up the latches on the front of his bag.

"Here, I've some bandages in here." He said, holding a few different sized band aids in his hand. "They'll hold until we head to the Nurse's Office."

"Th-The Nu-Nurse's..." Yuri balked out, starting to feel her heart race.

"Yeah!" MC responded, heading back towards Yuri again, bandages in hand. "You're bleeding pretty bad, Yuri. You're shirt's almost stained to the elbow."

Placing the band aids down on the countertop, MC held his hand out to accept Yuri's arm.

"I-I pr-probably just b-bumped my sc-scratch." Yuri excused, holding her arm tightly. "I-I-I'm sure it'll st-stop soon..."

"Yuri..." She looked into MC's caring and compassionate eyes. "Please, let me help you."

The way he said that, the way he was, Yuri felt as if she could confide in MC. That she could trust him.

"...Okay..." Yuri reluctantly agreed. "Bu-But can we..." Yuri looked towards the exit of the bathroom.

Following her line of sight, MC understood what she meant. "Certainly, Yuri. We can bandage your arm in the hall."

The moment the suggestion left his mouth, Yuri felt panicked. "NO!" She yelled.

Seeing how taken aback MC was by her outburst, Yuri felt herself shrink under his surprised gaze. "I-I'm s-sorry..."

"It's... fine..." MC replied.

Still holding her arm, Yuri shifted where she stood slightly. "C-Can we go t-to the club r-room? I-It's empty th-this period..."

"The club room?" MC asked before realization dawned on him. "Oh! For the Literature Club."

Thinking it over for a moment as he glanced off to the side, MC shook his head. "But that's in the opposite direction of the Nurse's Office, we need to-"

Looking back at Yuri, MC felt as if someone had just punched him in the gut when he saw Yuri crying again, her eyes red and puffy.

Yuri felt as if her throat was sore. "...Please..." She plead, her voice low and hoarse.

Swallowing his nerves, MC slowly nodded his head. "Alright... Let's go to the club room then."

...

"Miyuki, how much longer?" A girl complained while leaning against the wall of the third floor hallway. "What're you two even looking for in there?"

"It'll be my foot up your ass if you don't shut up and keep a lookout, Chizu" Miyuki spat out. "Jun, any luck over there?"

"Nah." The tall, tan girl responded. "How about you?"

"No." Miyuki responded, beginning to bite at her long, orange thumb nail. "Hayato's gonna be pissed if we can't get what he needs."

"He'll probably just be pissed at you, Mi Mi." Chizu said, quickly poking her head back into the mostly empty lab room. "He's your boyfriend after all."

"Chizu! I thought I sai-" Miyuki began to yell.

"Hey! Check it out, that chick's finally leaving the bathroom." Chizu interrupted, having trotted over to the hall windows.

"Oh~" Miyuki gleefully said. "This I gotta see, she probably tried drying off in there." Turning back towards her other friend, she shot out another order. "Jun, keep looking for the stuff. That's the last thing Hayato needs for his project."

"Fine, fine." Jun waved, moving to search through another shelf of chemicals.

Walking over to the hall window to stare down at the second floor, Miyuki smiled devilishly. "Jesus, just look at that mess. How pathetic."

Staring down at a purpled haired girl, looking both ways in the hall before leaving the bathroom, Miyuki giggled to herself.

"Hey..." Chizu said, tilting her head and bringing her finger up to her chin in thought. "What's she doing?"

"Hmm?" Miyuki squinted her eyes to get a better look. "It looks like she's waving to someone."

As soon as the words left her lips, she let out a gasp as a look of rage covered her face.

"Hey!" Chizu sounded out. "Isn't that MC?"

Seeing that Miyuki was preoccupied with biting her thumb nail, Chizu continued as she took another look towards the second floor across from them. "It is! God, if all it took was a bucket of water on me to get him into the bathroom with me, I'd-"

Turning towards Chizu and grabbing ahold of her blazer, Miyuki snarled at her. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"Oh... Sorry, Mi Mi." Chizu nervously said, trying to wiggle out of her grip. "I forgot you've got a thing for him."

Before she could continue to yell, Jun exited the lab room and closed the door. "I got it, I emptied the stuff into the vials like you asked too."

Seeing Jun holding out several glass vials full of clear liquid calmed Miyuki down. "Jun, you're the best." She praised, letting go of Chizu. "Oh, and did-"

"Yeah." She responded. "I filled the empty bottles with water so no one'll notice for awhile."

"Thanks~" Miyuki hummed, accepting the vials from Jun and placing them into her school bag.

"I'd be careful with those." Jun grimaced as Miyuki put the vials away. "That stuff can melt through pretty much anything."

"But what about the thing it's in?" Chizu asked.

"I said pretty much anything." Jun answered

"I'm fine." Miyuki responded, walking away with her bag as she placed her phone to her ear, the little charm strapped onto it bobbing with each step.

"Hey, Bae." She purred out.

Waiting for her Bae to finished speaking, Miyuki leaned against the wall. "Yup, I got tons of it."

"Thanks~" She happily said, glad to be receiving praise. "Oh, and can I ask for a favor?"

Turning around to stare out the window, Miyuki glared at the purpled haired bitch that was holding hands with one of, if not the, hottest guy in school. "Don't worry, Hayato."

A twisted smile formed on Miyuki's rage covered face. "This one's just your type."


	9. Scars

Sliding open the door of the classroom that the Literature Club would be meeting inside of in about an hour. MC poked his head inside and looked around.

"Wow, Yuri. You were right, it's completely empty." MC said, opening the door fully and entering the room.

"Y-Yeah..." Yuri replied, holding her bleeding arm tightly underneath her folded blazer. Her clothes and hair still damp, but no longer dripping wet.

MC set down their school bags and Yuri's book onto a nearby desk."There should be a first aid kit in this room, right?" He asked, looking around. "I mean, all the classrooms have at least one."

"I-In the closet..." Yuri answered, pointing towards it with a shaking finger.

Turning towards the closet and walking past the ajar doors, MC searched for the first aid kit.

Looking around the small storage room, MC saw a wide variety of text books on the large wooden shelf in the back of the closet. While he searched, MC also saw a nice wooden chess set and, oddly enough, an entire box set of some manga called Parfait Girls. There had to be at least a dozen issues inside the light brown container, their colorful spines showing a long piece of continuous art featuring multiple characters and desserts.

Passing over the books, manga, and chess set, MC finally saw the first aid kit tucked away in the lower right hand corner of the second shelf of the book case.

Picking up the hefty container, MC turned around to leave the closet.

"Yuri, I found the-" MC's glee at discovering the kit was undercut by seeing Yuri sitting down at a desk, cradling herself as she cried.

Looking at her continuingly reddening left sleeve, MC quickly made his way next to her.

Kneeling down at her side, MC set the first aid kit onto the desk. "I'm sorry, Yuri. You must be in a lot of pain." Beginning to reach for her arm, he offered her an empathetic smile. "Here, let me see your arm."

Pulling her arm away from him, Yuri seemed to be doing all that she could to put more distance between the two of them without falling out of her chair.

"Yuri, what's wrong?" MC asked, his smile wavering, but not fading.

Having had time to think while he was looking around the closet, Yuri grew more and more apprehensive. "I-I... I..."

Delicately placing his hand on top of her injured arm, Yuri turned her head and gazed into his eyes.

Beginning to break down into a sob, Yuri managed to utter out some words. "I-I don't... I d-don't want to m-make you... h-hate... me..."

Starting to tenderly rub her arm, MC didn't break their eye contact. "Yuri, there's nothing in the whole wide world that could make me hate you."

Still seeming uneasy, MC continued. "And that's more than just a promise, Yuri. That's an MC Guarantee."

A small smile appeared on Yuri's face so fast that had MC not been looking directly at her, he may have missed it.

Shakily nodding her head, Yuri threw her blazer onto the desk next to her and turned fully towards MC.

Looking down towards her crimson stained arm, Yuri placed her thumb and forefinger onto the end of her sleeve. MC let go of her arm as she slowly pulled the fabric up, a wet sound filling the room as the cloth was tugged away from her blood covered skin.

She let out a hushed wince as the white sleeve brushed by her injury. Passing her cut, Yuri then quickly pulled her sleeve all the way up her forearm.

At the sight before him, MC's mouth noiselessly opened as an expression of silent surprise covered his face.

Yuri's arm, from her wrist all the way up to her elbow, was covered in cuts. Each one rested on her arm in a different stage of healing and scarring. The further up on her arm MC looked, the more recent her cuts were.

Wordlessly bringing his hand up to her wrist, MC saw that the first cuts were short and jagged, shaky even. But as he stared at the fresh cut a few centimeters from Yuri's elbow, MC saw that the open flesh was in a near perfect straight line.

Deep concern painted on his face, MC saw a few drops of water fall upon Yuri's arm. The droplets hitting the still wet blood cleaned small splotches of the red liquid from her arm, resulting in clean spots marking their way up and down her forearm.

Taking his attention off of Yuri's arm, MC felt her entire body begin to shake as he gazed into her sobbing eyes.

Starting to hyperventilate, Yuri spoke through deep and ragged breaths. "I... I... I k-knew you... you'd... h-hate... h-ha-"

Before she had the chance to finish, MC wrapped her in a tight hug.

Yuri felt an incredible warmth spread throughout her entire body, starting at the point where MC had made contact with her.

Tears continuing to flow freely, Yuri immediately reciprocated MC's embrace. "I-I don't... I-I don't u-under... understand..."

Pausing to catch her breath, Yuri held MC tighter and tighter. "W-Why... W-Why are you..." Beginning to sob again, Yuri managed to force out her question. "Why are you so nice to me?"

"Because it's nice to be nice." MC answered, rubbing her back through her damp hair.

Hearing that caused a pause in Yuri's crying, then right before MC was going to ask if she was alright, he heard a quiet giggle.

Sniffling as she gently laughed, Yuri continued to hold onto MC for dear life.

"Maybe I should elaborate." MC suggested. Yuri nodded next to his head, her face buried next to his neck as she continued to shake.

"You see, I believe that the greatest thing that we can do is to help somebody know that they're loved and capable of loving." MC answered.

Her quivering ceased the moment she heard the word love. Her arms tightened around his back even more, as she felt the very same lightness in her heart as she did the first time they met.

...

Yuri felt at peace as she held onto MC, feeling his muscular back underneath his blazer.

"Ah!" Yuri suddenly shouted out, quickly letting go of MC and sitting ramrod straight. "Y-You're blazer! I... I got b-blood all..."

Letting go of Yuri, MC craned his neck around to check his back. Yuri's worries turned out to be right on the mark, there was plenty of blood on his back now.

Chuckling softly, MC turned his head back towards Yuri. "Yuri, I don't care about my clothes. I care about you."

"O-Oh..." Yuri replied, feeling a pitter patter in her heart at his comment. "B-But... still..."

"Really, I'm fine." MC insisted, showing her his hands and the sleeves of both of his blazer and his dress shirt. "See?" Yuri saw that both his hands and his clothes were already stained with blood.

Standing back up, MC took off his blazer and placed it onto a nearby table, and after rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt he held out his hand towards Yuri.

Taking his hand, MC helped Yuri to her feet. "Here, it'll be easier to patch you up this way." MC said, picking up the first aid kit from the table.

"O-On the desk?" Yuri asked. "B-But it's impolite to..."

MC couldn't contain his smile. "Yuri, considering the circumstances, I think it's fine if you sit on the desk."

Her face going bright red, Yuri wordlessly hopped up onto the desk.

Pulling a desk closer to his side, MC opened up the first aid kit and took out a small container of alcohol. Cracking open the lid, MC poured some of it over his hands to clean and sterilize them, Yuri's blood flowing off of his hands and onto the top of the desk.

Placing the lid back on and setting the container of alcohol off to the side, MC took off his his blazer and then his vest, setting them both down next to Yuri's blazer on a different table.

MC's movement also pulled his dress shirt out of his pants. A small portion of his abdominal muscles were briefly visible resulting in another growing blush from Yuri.

Going back into the first aid kit, MC took out a bottle of purified water and turned back to Yuri. Holding out his hand after opening the bottle, Yuri placed her left hand into his powerful palm. Turning her arm over, MC slowly poured the contents of the bottle onto her arm, blood cascading off of her arm and down onto the floor.

Looking at the floor, Yuri winced as she looked at the growing mess. Seemingly reading her mind, MC started to speak. "Don't worry about the mess, Yuri. I'll clean it all up after we're done."

"O-Okay..." Yuri replied.

Putting the bottle of water down next to the container of alcohol, MC retrieved a brown plastic bottle from the first aid kit.

"What's th-that?" Yuri asked.

"Hydrogen peroxide." MC answered. "It'll help clean your cuts and keep it from getting infected."

"A-Ah, I-I see..." Yuri replied, looking down at her hand as it rested in MC's palm.

Grabbing a cotton ball, MC flipped open the lid of hydrogen peroxide and placed the cotton ball on top of the bottle's neck, turning it over several times to wet the cotton thoroughly.

Deciding to start with her smaller cuts, MC lightly pressed the moist cotton ball to Yuri's arm.

"Ah!" Yuri let out a quiet yelp as the stinging liquid seeped into her lacerations. Watching as white bubbles formed in the grooves and recesses of her cuts, Yuri groaned slightly.

"I'm sorry, Yuri." MC said, continuing to clean her wounds with a fresh cotton ball. "I probably should have warned you that it'd sting."

"I-It's okay..." Yuri responded. "I-I was more sur-surprised... than hurt..."

"Happy to hear it." MC nodded, finishing his application of the hydrogen peroxide.

Tossing the bloody cotton balls onto the desk to his side, MC grabbed a tube of ointment from the first aid kit. Quickly reading over the label, MC saw that it was intended to assist with the healing of wounds.

Before squeezing any of it onto his fingers, MC noticed Yuri shivering out of his peripheral vision.

"Are you cold?" MC asked, placing the tube of ointment back down and reaching over to grab his blazer.

"A-A little..." Yuri began. "B-But you've already done s-so much for-"

Interrupting her, MC lifted his blazer over Yuri's head and rested the large piece of clothing onto her shoulders. "Here, this should help."

Any cold feeling she had was immediately replaced with an intense heat emanating from her chest. "Th-Thank you... MC. Y-Your blazer is... um... r-really wa-warm..."

"Really?" MC asked, squeezing some of of the ointment onto his fingers. "Well, I've been told I run a little hot."

Moving his hand to the back of her forearm, MC lifted Yuri's arm slightly as he began to slather the paste onto her cuts.

As he turned her arm to the side to finish putting ointment onto her cuts, MC had an intense concentration on his face. Yuri stared up at him intently. Sitting like this, they were so close to one another. The top of her head rested around the tip of his nose, and she could hear his nearly silent breathes in the quiet room.

"MC..." Yuri breathed out.

"Hmm?" He answered, picking up a piece of gauze.

"Y-You're really..." She began, licking her lips quickly to moisten them. "You're really... hand..." She felt her heart begin to race. "Hand..."

As he unwrapped the sterile gauze, MC looked back up at her with his beautiful auburn eyes. "What's that, Yuri?"

Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest. "Handy!" She shouted out. "Y-You're really h-handy."

Rubbing her hair with her right hand, she chastised herself silently for not being able to say exactly what she wanted to say. But she was happy that she was able to pay him some type of compliment. "I-I mean... You... You seem to know a l-lot about a lot of st-stuff."

"Thank you, Yuri. But I wouldn't go that far." He chucked to himself as he securely taped several pieces of gauze running up the length of Yuri's arm. "I don't know a lot about anything, but I know a little about practically everything."

"I-I wouldn't say that." Yuri replied. "I think you're... really g-great."

"Thank you, Yuri. I think you're pretty great too." MC responded while taking out a cylinder of elastic bandage. "Here, we're almost done. You've been an excellent patient, Yuri."

Yuri let out a small giggle. "Th-Thank you... You're a great..." Yuri paused for a moment to think of exactly what she wanted to say. "A great man."

Looking up at her with a surprised, yet deeply flattered expression, MC didn't know exactly how to reply. Smiling brightly at her, Yuri blushed while MC wrapped the long piece of tan bandage around the entire length of her arm several times.

"M-My cat didn't do this, b-by the way." Yuri suddenly said. "I-I shouldn't have lied to y-you... I'm... I'm s-sorry..."

"Hey... Hey..." MC gently said, holding the bandage in place with his right hand as he tenderly gripped Yuri's shoulder with his left. "You have nothing to apologize for Yuri, and you don't have to force yourself to talk about this right now if you're not ready yet."

"Bu-But..." Yuri began to blubber out. "I... I did this... t-to my... myself..." Saying that out loud to another person felt liberating, but fresh tears still began to fall from her eyes again.

"Th-Those bullies are r-right about me..." She said, looking down at her damp clothing. "I-I'm a... I'm a f-freak..."

A quiet gasp escaped MC's lips as he heard that. His grip tightened around her bandaged arm ever so slightly, as he brought his left hand up to her face to cup her cheek and raise her head.

"Yuri, you have a life of such joy before you. Not without hardship. Not without bumps in the road." Wiping away her tears, MC placed two metal clips onto the end of her bandage to secure it in place. "Be safe with those you trust. But when you do find people to trust, the bond will be that much greater." Patting her arm gently with his right hand, MC smiled with mist in his eyes. "I'm quite honored... by you choosing me as one."

...

Having cleaned off the floor and desks, MC threw the last bloody paper towel into the class garbage can. While dusting his hands off, a sudden thought popped into MC's head. "Hey, Yuri."

"Y-Yes?" She replied, sitting back down in her chair, but still wearing MC's blazer over her shoulders.

"What's your cat's name?" He asked, walking back over to her to put away the contents of the first aid kit.

"H-His name?" Yuri asked, surprised by the question. "M-My cat's name is... M-M..." Yuri's voice trailed off as she nervously rubbed her index finger on the end of her fresh bandages.

"I'm sorry, Yuri. I didn't quite catch that." MC said as he returned the medical supplies back to their proper spots in the container.

Yuri felt apprehensive, but she didn't want to just ignore his question. "P-Promise me that you won't l-laugh..."

MC smiled at her while he snapped the latchs of the first aid kit closed. "Of course I promise, Yuri. I would never laugh at one of my friends, I only ever laugh with them."

"Your... friend..." Yuri whispered to herself.

"Okay..." She nodded, returning his smile. "H-His name is... Mr. Midnight..."

Unable to help himself, MC snickered slightly. Resulting in a gasp from Yuri. "Y-You promised you wouldn't laugh!"

Smiling widely, MC shook his head. "It's not that, Yuri. It's a great name, I just wasn't expecting something so..." He paused to think of the exact word to describe such a name. "Cute."

"C-Cute...?" Yuri muttered out. "W-Well... I got him when I was s-six. S-So that's why his name's s-so... cute..."

"There's no reason to explain, Yuri." MC said, picking up the first aid kit. "I like his name."

Leaning against a desk, MC asked another question about Mr. Midnight. "With a name like that, he must be a black cat, right?"

"Y-Yeah, he is." Yuri replied. "W-Would you... L-Like to see a p-picture of him?"

"Absolutely!" MC immediately replied with a big smile. "Just let me go put this back in the closet, okay?"

"Okay." Yuri nodded back, taking her phone out of her blazer pocket.

Before even getting halfway to the closet, MC turned back around. "Oh, and Yuri."

"Y-Yes?" She asked, bringing her phone to her chest in surprise.

"You mentioned bullies." At the word, Yuri looked utterly downcast.

Seeing how she reacted to the word alone, MC tapped his finger against the medical container in his hands. "Well... In all honesty, I pity them."

Confused by what he had just said, Yuri sheepishly looked at him.

Not waiting for her to ask him what he meant, MC continued. "Because anyone that could see what a wonderful person you are would never be cruel to you."

A squiggly smile formed on Yuri's lips after hearing that.

"And besides..." MC began. "They're a rotten crowd, you're worth the whole damn bunch put together." With that, he turned around and continued to walk towards the closet.

As she stared at her bandaged arm, for the first time in her whole life, Yuri felt truly comfortable around another person.

"Hey, Yuri." MC called out from inside the closet. "I found a chess set in here earlier. Would you care for a game?"

She never had the opportunity to play chess for fun. "Sure!" She quickly replied.

Glancing one last time at her bandages, Yuri pulled her sleeve back over her arm. "Hey, MC."

"Yes, Yuri?" MC responded, exiting the closet and walking back over towards her to begin setting up the chess board.

"Th-Thank you... For not being d-disgusted by my..." She didn't finish her statement, she simply held her stained sleeve up to make her point.

Placing the chess set down on Yuri's desk, a small grin appeared on MC's face. "Scars are nothing to be ashamed of Yuri. They're beautiful in their own way, they add precious details to the story of someone's life."

Going a little red faced from his comments, Yuri tried to compose herself. "Y-You're just saying that."

"Am I?" MC chuckled, brining his hands up to his neck.

Undoing the full Windsor knot on his red tie in a practiced motion, MC undid the first three buttons on his dress shirt.

Her red face turning a dark garnet, Yuri began to stammer as she stared at his massive pectoral muscles. "W-Wh-Wha..."

Pulling the right side of his collar off to the side of his shoulder, MC shifted in his seat to show Yuri part of his back.

Her mouth opened to let out a gasp, but not a sound came out. All Yuri could do was stare at the muscles of MC's well defined back, and the deep red scars that covered it.


	10. Bandages, Board Games, & Bonds

Yuri couldn't move, her focus was locked squarely on the marks on MC's back. As her mind began to fill to the brim with questions she wanted to ask and possible scenarios that could have resulted in marks like that. Yuri found every other thought being forced to the recesses of her mind, the only thing she could think of now was MC and his scars.

She wondered if those really were scars, they were absolutely massive, but they couldn't have been birthmarks. Yuri wondered how someone could survive an injury that resulted in such deep scarring.

As Yuri's imagination ran wild with possible scenarios, she lowered her gaze as an expression of deep thought covered her face.

"Um... Yuri?" The sound of MC's voice broke her out of her concentration. "Your hand is a little cold."

"Huh?" Yuri looked back up towards MC and saw that her right hand was pressed up against his shoulder blade.

Feeling her entire body begin to tense up as she felt the warmth of MC's body transfer to her palm, she swiftly pulled her arm back."Sorry!" She yelled, her face turning a shade of red that matched the dark color of the scars on MC's back. "I-I d-didn't mean t-t-"

"Hey, hey..." MC gently cooed, shifting a little in his seat so he could turn his head to see Yuri a little better.

Peeking over at him, Yuri saw that MC had a pleasant smile on his face. "It's okay, Yuri."

As she began to open her mouth again to apologize, MC repeated himself. "It's okay."

Yuri's mouth hung open, ready to say something back. But she simply nodded in response, her lips closing into a weak smile.

...

Still gazing at the dark red marks, Yuri counted five of them, but could see the top of a sixth one peeking out from under MC's shirt. The nearly perfectly horizontal scars ran from the middle of MC's back to the very edge of the right side of his body, with the fifth one down going across his bicep.

"H-How..." Yuri was still unable to think of anything else, she needed to at least know something about his scars. She stared down at the fingers she had touched MC's back with and rubbed them together. She knew they were scars from the moment she felt them. "H-How did y-you..."

"Get them?" MC finished for her. Pointing to his back with a thumbs up motion, MC grinned a little bit. "Would you believe me if I told you a cat did it?"

Processing what she had just heard, Yuri cracked a small smile. "T-That'd have to b-be a really big c-cat..."

MC grinned back at her. "I know right? Can't imagine wha- Oh!" MC blurted out, startling Yuri slightly. "I nearly forgot about your book."

Standing up, MC pulled his shirt back over his shoulder and walked to the desk that Yuri's book was resting on top of. Gently pressing his finger against the cover, the still soaked through book released some of the water that was trapped within its pages.

Yuri followed all of MC's movements as he quickly entered and exited the class closet. Retrieving the roll of paper towels that he had used to clean the floor and desks, MC went back over to the book he would be attempting to dry.

"U-Uh... Um..." Watching him work, Yuri tried her best to get his attention, but kept mulling over exactly what she wanted to say to him. As she considered her words, MC wiped down the cover of the book to get rid of some of the excess water, placing the book back down onto several torn sheets of paper towel.

Standing the book up, MC delicately opened up the front and back covers as he held the pages in the center. Taking four paper towels in his hand, MC placed two of them on the inside of each cover and slowly closed the book, positioning it so it remained standing.

"M... MC..." Yuri called out, loud enough to get his attention.

"Yes, Yuri?" MC replied, drying his hands with one of the paper towels.

Yuri wanted to know more about his scars, she needed to. The curiosity inside her continued to swell up until it made it difficult to think of anything else.

"Y-You... Your..." But as desperately as she wanted to know, she didn't want to offend him. "I-I mean..."

Yuri shook her head vigorously. She didn't want to do anything that could result in her losing a friend, her only friend.

But when she looked up, MC was already back at her side. Picking up one of the knights, he placed it in its proper position and gazed back at Yuri. "How about we talk during our game?"

Picking up a pawn, Yuri thumbed at the spherical head for a moment. "O-Okay..."

...

Having set up the chessboard, MC motioned towards Yuri. "What color would you prefer, Yuri?"

The dark pieces were lovely, the mahogany colored wood had a delicate shine to it from the light coming in through the classroom's window. But Yuri didn't want to imply that MC was unskilled by making him go first, forcing the oak colored pieces on him would be impolite.

Though the opposite action could have just as negative of an effect. Maybe if she took the lighter pieces, MC would think she was greedy in wanting to go first.

As Yuri thought of all the ways to avoid the possible pitfalls of offending MC, the chessboard rotated until the mahogany pieces sat before Yuri.

Yuri gazed up at MC, who sat with his hands resting on the desk. "Sorry, I just saw you looking at them and I thought you seemed to really like the color."

Yuri pressed her finger against her right bishop and looked over the rest of her pieces out of embarrassment. "...Thank you..."

MC motioned towards her again. "Your move, Yuri."

Yuri's head shot up. "B-But the... what about the rules?"

MC waved his hand at that. "There's no need to stick to the rulebook here. Besides, ladies first."

Yuri smiled as she placed her fingers back onto her pawn and moved the piece to e5.

...

Over half of MC's pieces now laid captured on Yuri's side of the board. In contrast, MC had only claimed two of Yuri's pieces, both pawns.

"S-Sorry..." Yuri meekly said. "My F-Father had me take l-lessons..."

"I can see that." MC replied. Reviewing the board while he considered his next move, he knew that he was beat. His queen was gone, both of his knights were captured, what remained of his pawns were spread out all over the board, his only bishop had no way of getting to her king, and he couldn't move either rook without opening up what little defense he had left.

Bringing his right hand up to his chin in thought, MC tried to think of some sort of strategy to try and get within striking distance of Yuri's king, or even just close enough to claim enough pieces that she didn't completely crush him.

As he thought, Yuri took a quick peek at his muscular chest. The top three buttons of MC's dress shirt had remained undone, and Yuri had been sneaking the occasional glance at the muscles underneath the white fabric whenever she had the opportunity.

"U-Um..." Yuri began, getting MC's attention. "D-Do you play chess o-often?"

Before MC had a chance to answer, Yuri realized what she had just said. "I-I didn't mean to i-imply that you're..." She began to shrink in her seat. "B-Bad... or anything..."

Finally moving one of his rooks horizontally a few spaces, MC chuckled softly. "I didn't take it that way at all, Yuri."

Seeing that she was still doing all that she could to make herself appear as small as possible without falling out of her seat, MC continued. "I haven't played against someone as good as you are in awhile, but I play somewhat regularly." Watching Yuri capture one of his pawns with her knights, MC seemed a bit downcast. "Not as often as I used to though..."

"W-What's wrong?" Yuri asked, noticing him appear to be a bit sullen.

"Hmm?" MC looked back up at Yuri and any sign of him appearing upset instantly vanished. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how my Mom taught me how to play." He answered, moving the same rook vertically towards his king to defend the piece.

"Your Mother?" Yuri asked. "W-Was she a good teacher?"

"Absolutely." MC replied, an expression of nostalgia appearing on his face. "As a child, I would watch my parents play chess. And my Mom thought it would be good to teach me how to play, since I seemed so interested in it, after all."

Yuri wordlessly moved a pawn forwards as she listened to MC speak. "After she told me how all the pieces moved, I immediately challenged my Dad to a game." He captured the pawn Yuri had just moved with his remaining bishop. "He moped the floor with me, of course. Not as easily as you're doing now, though."

Yuri smiled at his compliment as she took the rook MC had just used to capture the pawn she had used as bait. "He would get this stuck-up grin whenever he won, which was all the time."

"My Mom and I practiced together for weeks. The look on his face when I finally won..." Yuri couldn't exactly describe the expression on MC's face, but it seemed as if he was full of longing when he spoke.

"I was never able to beat my Mom, though." MC continued, snapping Yuri out of her analysis of him. "To be honest, I think she let my Dad win sometimes." He shrugged his shoulders. "Ah well, no harm in that I suppose."

Yuri continued to sit quietly as MC reminisced. "Ah, it's my turn." He said, moving one of his pawns forward a space.

Thinking over everything that MC had just said, Yuri nervously fiddled with one of MC's captured knights. "W-Well... I-If you'd l-like to... We could... Um..." Yuri's grip tightened around the piece of lightly colored wood in her hand. "P-Play t-together some m-more... I-If you'd l-like to... That is..."

Yuri silently chastised herself for using the word 'play', that sounded childish. Plus, she had repeated herself. She felt as if she shouldn't have even opened her mouth.

"I'd love to." MC said.

Hearing that, Yuri's head shot back up to look at him. "W-What was that?"

"I said, I'd love to." MC repeated. "I'd really enjoy spending more time together."

Yuri felt as if she was on cloud nine. "You said that." Never in her wildest dreams did she think MC would want to spend more time with her.

Seeing him smile back at her, Yuri glanced down at the board. "W-We should... Finish our game. Right? M-My turn?"

At MC's nod, she moved her queen forwards.

...

Sitting in her final class of the day, Sayori glanced up at the clock above the door. She was really looking forward to showing MC her poem, and she really wanted to read his too.

As she counted the minutes until class ended, Sayori felt her cell phone vibrate in her blazer pocket.

She didn't want to get her phone taken by the teacher, so she decided to wait until class ended before checking her messages.

But after about ten seconds, Sayori couldn't stand the anticipation anymore.

Waiting for the teacher to turn around to write something on the board, Sayori quickly fished her phone out of her pocket and clicked on the home button to see what she had been sent.

Sayori's elated grin wavered slightly, she was hoping that it was a text from MC. But clicking on the message revealed several dozen pictures of old photos.

Her enthusiasm renewed, Sayori put her phone back into her blazer and began happily tapping her feet.

Staring back at the clock, she saw that a minute hadn't even passed since she last glimpsed up at it.

She almost felt like running out of class, she couldn't wait to see MC now.

...

"C-Checkmate..." Yuri softly squeaked out.

Staring down at the board, MC could tell she was right, there wasn't a single move that he could make without losing his king.

"S-Sorry..." Yuri muttered.

"What?" MC incredulously gasped. "You don't need to apologize for winning fair and square, Yuri."

Tapping his king on the side to knock it over and signify Yuri's victory, MC nodded towards her politely. "You're pretty good."

"Pretty... Good...?" Yuri repeated to herself. "I-I wouldn't go t-that far..." But all the same, she smiled at his kind words.

Glancing down at the four pieces that he had only managed to capture, MC shrugged his shoulders. "There's no need to be modest, Yuri."

"Y-You were just out of p-practice." Yuri excused.

"Maybe." MC shrugged his shoulders. "But for us, there is only the trying. The rest is none of our business."

Recognizing the quote, Yuri couldn't help but grin a little.

Noticing the time on the clock out of the corner of his eye, MC began to gather all the chess pieces. "It's almost time for school to let out."

Glancing over to the clock as well, Yuri looked down at her clothes. "Wh-What about my..."

"Don't worry, Yuri." MC began, closing the chess set up after putting all of the pieces back where they belonged. "Our clothes are both dry now, and you can cover your sleeve with your blazer."

Gazing down at her arm, Yuri nodded to herself in affirmation of MC's suggestion. "B-But what about you?" Yuri asked, tugging at the shoulder that she had gotten blood on when she hugged him. "Y-Your blazer has b-blood on it..." Yuri pointed at his wrists. "A-And there's some on your s-sleeves too..."

MC started bobbing his head from side to side with a thoughtful air on his face. "That's a fair point." MC then began undoing the remaining buttons of his shirt.

Yuri's eyes almost bugged out of her head as she watched MC unbutton his shirt. "W-Wa-Wai-Wait!"

Turning his attention back towards Yuri, MC ceased his unbuttoning. "What's wrong?"

"Y-Y-You're j-just going to u-undress right t-there?!" She stammered out.

"Oh!" MC blurted out. "I'm sorry, Yuri. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"You didn't!" She yelled out. "I-I was... just s-suprised..."

Before MC could say anything, Yuri shot up out of her seat and grabbed her blazer off of the desk next to her. "H-Here! I-I'll wait in the closet while you c-change."

"I coul-" Before MC could offer to go into the closet himself, Yuri had already trotted over and entered the storage room.

...

Standing in the center of the closet, Yuri set her folded blazer down on the shelf and started square breathing to help herself calm down.

Breathing in, she picked her blazer back up and began to put it on.

Holding her breath, she buttoned up the piece of clothing.

Breathing out, she tiptoed to the edge of the closet door.

"You okay in there?" MC called out to her.

Flinching back from the door frame of the closet, Yuri blubbered out an answer. "Y-Yes, I-I am."

"Good, good." MC replied. "I'm gonna start changing now, okay?"

"O-Okay..." Yuri responded, bringing her fingers up to her hair and interlacing them in between several strands.

She opened her mouth to call out to MC and speak to him, but something inside of her was telling her not too. So instead, she leaned over a little more to carefully peek out of the closet.

Yuri let out a quiet gasp as she feasted her eyes on MC. He had just popped out his last button, and Yuri was able to see the entire front of his body.

The only word Yuri could think of to describe him was... incredible. The chest that she had been spying at while they played chess was large and brimming with power. But as she looked lower, she gripped the doorframe of the closet to steady herself as her legs began to sway slightly.

"You're not a bad person, Yuri." MC broke the momentary silence. "In fact, I think you're quite brave for telling me about your cuts."

"H-Huh...?" Yuri didn't really know how to respond to something like that. "I-I'm not..."

MC couldn't see her, he was focusing on folding his shirt while they spoke. So Yuri considered what he had just said to her while she stared in awe at his abdominal muscles, they seemed as if they were carved from marble.

"There are different ways to be brave." MC stated, placing his folded dress shirt onto a desk. "My father was one of the best reconnaissance pilots in the Air Force's history."

Yuri kept listening while MC continued. "He had to fly over battlefields and warzones all across the world, and then return home."

While she listened to him, Yuri hungrily stared at MC's body. She bit her bottom lip as she committed the sight of it to memory. She didn't know how to define exactly how to felt, but excited would be a good start.

As Yuri's heart continued to beat faster and faster, she took a single step out of the closet to go over to MC.

But the moment she did, he turned around to pick up his vest. The moment Yuri saw his full back, the feelings of excitement she had vanished as they were superseded with shock. Shrinking back into the closet, she brought her hands up to her mouth to stifle her gasp, as she gazed at his scars.

The right side of his back was covered in thirteen horizontal scars from just below his neck, all the way down to the small of his back. The scars on his shoulder blades reached about halfway to the center of his back, but the lower seven scars ran the entire length from his left to his right side.

Then on his left shoulder blade were about a dozen small marks in what didn't appear to be any kind of pattern at all. They appeared as if someone had cut jagged circles of flesh from his back.

Yuri wanted to say something to him. She wanted to make him feel happy, the same way she felt when he said nice things to her. But she couldn't think, her mind was racing far too fast to think of anything to say.

The sound of his voice broke her out of her stupor. "My Dad was sent out to the front lines of so many Godforsaken places and then told to report back home, that's all he knew. But to get there he had to fly over war. Can you imagine such a thing?"

Yuri pressed her forehead against the closet door, she couldn't imagine anything like that. But she didn't understand how MC thought she could be in anyway as brave as that.

Grabbing ahold of his vest, MC slipped it over his body and proceeded to straighten out his hair a bit. "There he was, flying over so much pain and terror, and he knew that he could never look down."

Yuri grabbed ahold of the arm that MC had bandaged earlier and slowly rubbed it back and forth, she was seemingly staring through the fabric of her clothes and onto the wounds underneath.

A hushed gasp escaped her lips as she felt a large hand fall upon her shoulder. "You have to look forward or you'll never get home." MC said, gazing directly into Yuri's eyes after she took her head off of the door. "What could be braver than that?"

...

Yuri felt a lump form in her throat. "I-I just..."

"I just..." Yuri turned to fully face him and began shaking. "I just don't want to go back to being alone all the time!"

Bawling her eyes out in front of him, MC took a step forward and wrapped her in another one of his warm hugs. "You won't, Yuri. Do you know why?"

"B-Because..." Yuri choked out into his chest. "You're here?"

"Bingo." MC approved.

Standing there for a moment, the silence was interrupted by the final bell of the day.

"Ah, there's the last bell." MC said, looking over his shoulder towards the door and seeing some people begin to walk past the window of the class door.

MC patted Yuri on the back a few times. "I have to go get, Sayori. She'll get worried if she can't find me."

Remaining quiet for a few seconds, Yuri eventually nodded into his chest. "Okay..."

Reluctantly letting go of him, MC gave her right hand a gentle squeeze and exited the closet.

About halfway to the door, Yuri stepped out of the closet as well. "U-Um..."

MC turned back around. "P-Promise that you'll... Be back soon...?"

Giving her a smile and a nod, MC continued his path towards the door. "I promise."

...

"Wait a sec, lemme just get a sip of water." A girl in a gym uniform said as she bent down and activated the water fountain.

"Didn't you just fill up your bottle, Suzu?" Another girl in a gym uniform asked. "Just drink outta there."

"But then it won't be full when we get down there, Haruka." As she started to take a long drink from the fountain, her friend began tapping her on the back. "What? I'll be done in a-"

Tilting her head to the side to see what her friend wanted, Suzu saw that she was pointing down the hall with a hungry look in her eyes. Following her finger, Suzu balked at the sight coming their way.

Ignoring the water that was now spraying on the side of her head, both girls watched as MC sauntered down the hall.

Offering both girls a friendly smile and a nod, MC continued on his way down the hall, his massive arms swaying back and forth as he passed by them.

Suzu let go of the fountain button to stop the flow of water hitting her head, while her friend simply turned around and continued to watched MC as he walked down the hall.

"Hey, Haruka." Suzu called out, unable to get her friend's attention. "You should use the water fountain too, you're looking pretty thirsty."

...

Turning down a hall to his right, MC spotted Sayori poking her head into the class he was supposed to be in.

Stepping back out into the hall, Sayori started to beam the moment she saw MC. She began bounding down the hall towards him, waving her arm excitedly the whole time. "MC! MC!"

Stopping less than half a meter in front of him, Sayori started to bounce up and down excitedly. "Guess what?! Guess what?! Guess what?!"

MC opened his mouth to answer. "Wha-" But was immediately cut off by Sayori shoving her phone into his face.

"Look!" She yelled, brimming with pure energy.

"I can't see, Sayori." MC laughed. "It's too close to my face."

"Oh!" Sayori giggled. "Sorry, MC I-" As she pulled her arm back from his face, Sayori got a good at what he was wearing.

"Woah~" She breathed out. "Have you gotten bigger?"

"Have I?" MC asked, looking between both of his arms.

"Yeah, I think so." Sayori replied, putting her phone into her blazer pocket and using her now free hand to grab ahold of MC's left bicep.

MC flexed a little while Sayori held onto his arm, causing her to giggle some more. "So what did you want to show me?"

"...Hmm?" Sayori distractedly hummed out.

"Your phone." MC explained. "Didn't you want to show me something on it?"

"O-Oh! Right..." Sayori exclaimed, begrudgingly letting go of MC's arm and fishing her phone back out of her pocket. "My Mom sent me some pictures of some old photos she found at my Grandparent's house."

"Really?!" MC enthusiastically asked. "Lets see them."

"Sure!" Sayori replied. "But first, will you come with me to buy a snack?"

"Of course." MC nodded. "It's on the way to club room, after all."

"Yay!" Sayori practically leapt at hearing MC agree to her request.

"By the way, why are you only wearing your vest?" Sayori asked as they began walking to the stairwell.

...

"Wow, MC. You really are clumsy, huh?" Sayori teased, leaning against the side of one of the vending machines. "I can't believe you spilled water all over yourself and Yuri. Was she mad?"

"No, she wasn't." Happy that his friend believed the excuse he came up with on the spot. "And yeah... I slipped while filling up the tea kettle." MC shrugged his shoulders. "At least the water was still cold though."

"OOF." Sayori guffawed. "Well I'm glad neither of you got burned."

Hopping off the side of the vending machine, Sayori skipped to the front of the device to stare in at its contents. "What do you think I should get, MC?"

"Knowing you it'll probably be something sweet." MC responded.

"Yup, you know me so well MC." Sayori giggled while she took a small coin purse out of her blazer pocket.

Sayori opened the little bag and suddenly gasped. "Oh!"

Turning around to face MC, Sayori had a pained expression on her face. "Um... Hey, MC..."

Before Sayori could finish her sentence, MC placed his hands on his hips. "You're next line is, 'Ehehe... Can you lend me some money, pretty please?' Right?"

"Ehehe... Can you lend me some money, pretty ple-" Sayori cut herself off, her face going from cute to surprised in an instant. "HUH!?"

MC pointed dynamically towards Sayori. "Now you'll say, 'MC! How'd you know I was gonna say that?!'"

"MC! How'd you know I was gonna say that?!" Sayori's shocked expression now became one of complete befuddlement. "E-Eh?!"

"It's rather quite simple, Sayori!" MC stopped pointing at Sayori and now held his finger up in an explanatory manner. "I knew your intentions from the moment you asked me to walk with you to get a snack!"

"What?! Really?!" Sayori's arms bent at the elbows up towards her face in shock. "How MC?!" She gasped. "ARE YOU PSYCHIC!?"

Sayori's energetic reaction and hypothesis caused MC to chuckle briefly. "Not at all Sayori, for you see." MC began pacing back and forth before Sayori as he explained his deduction.

"I know that you pass by another set of vending machines before you come to my classroom each day, so if you had enough money on you to begin with, you would have purchased a snack before even coming to see me!" MC looked at Sayori while continuing to pace. "I also considered the possibility that you weren't hungry and simply wanted to take a walk with me..."

"But there's just one problem with that scenario, Sayori..." MC stopped in his tracks and faced her dramatically. "You're always hungry!"

MC then shrugged his shoulders. "So that left only the one option, you needed to borrow some money."

Sayori looked as if her brain had just short circuited. "Uwaaa~ "I give up!"

"Don't make me feel gui-" Before Sayori could finish her sentence, she heard a loud kerchunk sound that broke her train of thought. "H-Huh?"

As Sayori stood by dazed and confused, MC had gone ahead and got some chocolate chip cookies out of the vending machine.

"Here you go, Sayori." MC said while handing the cookies over to Sayori.

Sayori looked at the bag of cookies in her hands. "You bought me a snack? Even though I tried to trick you?"

MC looked a bit surprised at what Sayori said. "Of course, you've been my best friend for as long as I can remember, Sayori. Sure I like to tease you every so often, but did you really think I wouldn't spend a few yen to help you out?"

MC then put his hand on Sayori's petite shoulder. "So don't be afraid to just ask next time. Okay?"

Sayori smiled at the contact. "Okay."

MC let go of Sayori's shoulder, allowing her to more easily put the bag of chocolate chip cookies into her blazer pocket next to her phone.

"At any rate, we should head over to the club room." MC said while checking the clock on the wall. "I promised Yuri that I'd be back quickly.

About to turn around and start heading back to the club room, MC felt a petite hand gently grasp his wrist and tug at him.

MC turned towards the source of the tug. "Sayori?"

Sayori wrapped her arms around MC's neck and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you, MC. For being so nice to me... and for being my best friend."

MC wrapped his arms around Sayori in reciprocation of her embrace. "You're welcome, Sayori. I'm happy you're my best friend too."

The two best buddies stood there hugging each other for what seems like a few minutes. Then MC spoke up. "Hey, Sayori."

Sayori responded without opening her eyes or releasing MC from their hug. "Mmm-hmm?"

"Didn't you put your cookies in your blazer pocket?" MC asked.

Sayori's eyes popped open at the question. "Yeah. Why do you a-"

Sayori gasped as she let go of MC and leapt back a few centimeters.

Digging into her blazer pocket, Sayori held her phone out towards MC. Accepting the small device, MC dusted off a few bits of dust and other junk from the phone's screen.

"Oh no!" Sayori yelped out, pulling out a bunch of crumbs from her pocket. "I must have crushed the cookies and popped open the bag when we were hugging."

Tears started to form in the corners of Sayori's eyes. "MC, I'm so sorry! After you spent your money on me, I went and wasted it!"

Sayori started hiccuping out her words. "I... I'm nothing but a bur-"

Before Sayori could say such a terrible thing MC slammed his elbow into the side of the vending machine. Causing several loose snacks to fall from their positions.

MC smiled and wagged his finger while making a tsk, tsk sound. "No need to worry Sayori, I didn't just get you the chocolate chip cookies because they're your favorite."

MC then pointed his thumb towards the vending machine. "I got them because I could see from the layout of the vending machine that buying one of them would cause a domino effect and loosen up the other snacks to be easily knocked down."

Hearing that immediately cheered Sayori up. "Wow, really?! You're incredible, MC!"

Sayori continued to praise MC, while she checked out the vending machine. "Wow~ You're a great planner, MC!"

"Thanks, Sayori. Everything worked out exactly according to my plan..." MC clenched his fist dramatically. "From the very beginning!" Which wasn't entirely true, but MC would do anything to cheer Sayori up.

Sayori was so excited to hear this that she started to hop up and down. "You're so cool, MC~"

MC rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, feeling a bit embarrassed by all the praise Sayori was laying upon him. "Yeah, um... Thanks, Sayori." Clearing his throat, MC handed Sayori her phone back. "But at any rate, we should really be heading to the club room." MC said while bending down to gather the snacks from the vending machine. "Huh, five snacks. Perfect for sharing."

MC glanced up to Sayori while he took the snacks from the vending machine. "Here Sayori, let's bring these snacks back to the club to share with the others."

"Yeah! Good idea!" Sayori agreed. "This way we can thank Natsuki for her cupcakes from yesterday too!"

"Absolutely!" MC concurred. "We'll be paying a nice gesture forward."

A big, beautiful smile plastered itself on Sayori's face. "Yup!"

Sayori then looked towards MC, her fingers rubbing against each other shyly. "Oh, um... MC?"

MC held out the extra bag of chocolate chip cookies that fell from the vending machine. "Here you go, Sayori."

"Wha-" Sayori looked shocked for a moment before giggling to herself. "Are you sure you're not psychic?"

MC chuckled as he stood back up and dusted his pant leg off. "I'm sure."

...

"Here, I'll carry those for you." MC offered, holding his hands out to accept the snacks.

"No way, mister." Sayori denied. "You were nice enough to get all of these for everyone, so carrying them is the least I can do."

"Here!" Sayori continued, dangling her phone in between her index and middle fingers. "You can take my phone and look at the pictures my Mom sent me."

"Sure." MC replied, taking Sayori's phone for her, tapping the home button, and keying in her password.

The first of over a dozen pictures popped up the moment the device accepted the passcode, and at the sight of the first picture, a big, goofy grin covered MC's face.

"What?" Sayori asked, leaning over to see her phone. "What picture are yo- NO!"

Sayori nearly dropped the snacks as MC held the phone out of her reach. "I almost forgot about this." MC laughed.

"D-Don't laugh at meeee!" Sayori begged.

Bringing the phone a little closer to his face, MC felt a warm feeling in his chest while he looked at the picture. It was of Sayori in a silly Christmas sweater that was about two sizes too big for her.

But the reason MC was smiling so broadly was because of the lit Christmas lights that were tangled all around Sayori. She was laughing in the picture while holding onto a present with a big red bow on top of it, matching the one on her head in the picture, as well as the same one she still wore to this day.

"Gimme back my phone, MC!" Sayori yelled. "I didn't want you to see that one!"

"What?" MC smuggly asked. "You look adorable." Hearing that caused Sayori to blush a little, and she stopped trying to get her phone back from him. "Didn't you get so excited to exchange Christmas presents that you came over a day early?" MC asked.

"Y-Yeah." Sayori replied, puffing her cheeks out a little because she knew what he was going to say next.

"And you rushed over so fast that you tripped in the snow and got tangled up in all the lights out front?"

"Hmph!" Sayori pouted. "Well I hope you liked the gift."

"Aww..." MC cooed. "Don't pout, Sayori. I'm really glad that you did that."

Bringing the phone back down to both of their eye levels, MC wrapped his right arm around Sayori while they walked.

"Do you really mean that, MC?" Sayori asked, still pouting slightly.

"Of course." MC immediately replied. "Just like those lights you're tangled in, you really light up my life. You know that?

Thumbing through the photos, Sayori looked up at MC while his attention was directed to the pictures.

Continuing to walk down the hall, Sayori cozied up next to him. "Hey, MC... After club do you maybe wanna..."

Before Sayori could ask her question, MC stopped in his tracks while Sayori continued to walk. His arm dangling where he had just had it draped over Sayori, before it slowly fell to his side limply.

"MC? What's wrong" She asked, trotting over to his side.

Sayori felt her heart sink when she saw what MC was looking at.

As MC stared at the picture of himself and Sayori dressed up for the last time they went Trick-or-Treating. He felt a wave of nostalgia crash over him.


	11. Memories Are Made of This

MC stared at the crosswalk sign, waiting for the walk signal so that he could continue his trek back home.

As the sign began counting backwards from ten, MC heard a loud yell that caused his entire body to stiffen. "Heeeeeeeyyy!"

Slowly turning around with a grimace, MC saw an annoying girl running towards him from the distance, waving her arms in the air like she was totally oblivious to any attention she might draw to herself.

While he was tempted to run away from the quickly approaching girl, MC just sighed and stood idle in front of the crosswalk and allowed her to catch up to him.

"Hey, Sayori..." MC groaned out as she slowed down a short distance in front of him and bent over slightly in order to catch her breath.

"Haaahhh... Haaahhh..." Gulping down the crisp October air around them, Sayori straightened herself out and giggled. "I caught up to you, MC!"

"Maybe..." MC replied, watching Sayori as she took her eyes off of him to begin straightening out the red seifuku ribbon of her uniform.

With a quick glance behind himself, he let out a quiet groan as he saw the glowing red hand of the don't walk sign. "But that's only because I decided to stop and wait for you."

"Eeehhhhh?!" Snapping her attention back to him in an instant, Sayori's glare made MC nervously shuffle in place a little. "You say that like you were thinking about ignoring me!"

Talking several steps towards him, MC reflexively backed up to put some distance between them, but ended up walking into the streetlight pole behind him and trapping himself.

Now that MC was stuck between a rock and a hard place, Sayori poked her finger into his chest. "That's mean, MC!"

MC needed a moment to come up with a decent excuse, while he was wildly glancing around to find something to distract Sayori with, she poked him again, a bit harder this time.

"Well?!" She asked, clearly still mad. Taking another step towards him until their noses almost touched, MC discovered how he could get out of this.

"H-Hey, Sayori!" He quickly blubbered out. "Did you... Uh... Get taller?"

The look of anger immediately vanished from Sayori's face and was replaced with a big, bright smile that was accompanied with wide, shiny eyes. "You think so?!" She excitedly asked.

"Here, stand up straight!" She energetically requested, taking a step back and pulling MC along with her.

Balancing her school bag on top of her head, Sayori waved for MC to come closer.

He was happy that she wasn't interrogating him anymore, but he didn't exactly want to humor her. But he accepted his fate, let out a hushed sigh, and slowly hobbled over to her.

Shifting one side of the bag over to MC's head, Sayori lit up again when she saw that the bag tilted downward towards him. "Yay! I'm still ta- Hey!"

She cut herself off when she noticed that MC was hunched over a little bit. "Stand up straight!" She yelled, swatting at him.

"Okay, okay." MC acquiesced.

Now that they were both standing upright, Sayori's school bag was just a tiny bit higher on MC's head. Letting out a loud gasp of delight, Sayori began bouncing up and down, her bag nearly falling to the ground before MC was able to awkwardly catch it.

"You're finally taller than me!" She squealed.

Embarrassed, MC tried to get Sayori to quiet down before anyone walking home from school heard them. "H-Hey..."

"You're finally becoming a man, MC!" Sayori complimented, giggling to herself.

MC's body stiffened back up again. "I-I don't wanna hear something like that from you!" His cheeks going a rosy pink. "That... That sounds weird."

"Fine, fine." Sayori agreed, still giggling as she reached over to take her school bag back from MC.

"But you did wait for me, after all." Sayori said, glancing between the crosswalk sign and the growing blush on MC's face.

The sides of her lips curling, Sayori slid up to MC's side and placed her free arm over his shoulders. "I guess you don't have it in you to be mean even if you want to~"

Before MC had a chance to try and think of something clever to say back to her, Sayori started nuzzling her cheek against the side of his face.

"H-Hey... What're you... What're you doing?" MC asked, embarrassed.

"Your cheeks are all red, so I'm warming them up!" Sayori playfully responded, dropping her school bag to the side so she could wrap MC up in a tight hug and nuzzle him harder.

"I-I'm not cold..." MC quietly said, trying and failing to stymie the smile that was spreading across his face.

...

After crossing the street, Sayori cheerfully bounced around MC. "I'm so happy it's finally Halloween!"

At the mention of the holiday, MC frowned a little bit. "Yeah..."

"I've been excited all day!" Sayori shouted out while jumping right next to him. "I couldn't wait for school to end!"

"Y-Yeah..." MC replied, lacking any energy in his voice.

"So what time do you want to start trick-or-treating?" Sayori asked, moving in front of MC as she continued hopping up and down.

"I... Um..." MC looked down towards the pavement of the sidewalk. "I kinda don't wanna... go trick-or-treating..."

"Aww, don't be like that." Skipping over to MC's left side, Sayori rested her arm on his shoulder and leaned on him. "How come, MC?"

"W-Well... we're um..." MC anxiously wrung his hands together as he turned away from Sayori while she continued to stare at him. "We'll both be thirteen next year so... it's um..."

"Yeah, yeah." Sayori nodded, beginning to play with MC's earlobe. "What about it?"

Craning his neck over so that Sayori couldn't grab his ear as easily, MC rubbed his left arm awkwardly. "I-I think it's about time we stopped with all the baby stuff..."

"Hey, MC?" Sayori began.

"Y-Yes?!" MC responded, swinging his head around to look her in the eyes. "Wh- EW!"

The moment he turned to face her, Sayori had shoved her saliva covered finger into his ear.

MC's entire body quivered at the feeling, his body going ramrod straight as he brought his hand up to cover his ear. "Sayori!"

Doubling over from laughter, Sayori held her stomach as she began to shake with glee. "I get you with that everytime!"

"My ears are off limits, Sayori!" MC said in a fluster, putting a finger in his ear in an attempt to get any and all of Sayori's spit out of the canal.

"N-Now I'm definitely not going trick-or-treating with you!" MC spat out, crossing his arms in a huff.

"You're so cute when you pout, MC~" Sayori complimented, still in a bit of a giggle fit.

"A-Am not!" MC countered, going a bit red in the face.

"Fine, fine. You're not cute." Sayori acquiesced.

Looking over at the digital clock outside of a nearly bank, Sayori gasped. "We'd better get going, MC! Trick-or-treating is gonna start pretty soon!"

Walking behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders, Sayori began pushing MC.

"Hey, whaddya think you're doing?!" MC yelled, trying to resist Sayori's pushing. "I said I'm not going!"

"Yeah, yeah." Sayori acknowledged. "But I'm gonna show you something that'll change your tune pretty quick."

"What is it?" MC asked, beginning to allow himself to be pushed along by Sayori.

"It's a secret!" Sayori answered. "But I know you're gonna love it!"

"I better..." MC passive aggressively said.

"So moody." Sayori teased. "You're such a girl sometimes, MC."

"A-Am not!" He shouted back.

...

"We're home!" Sayori called out as she walked into MC's home, one of her arms around the boy himself as she dragged him inside.

A loud, happy gasp could be heard from deeper within the house that was quickly followed by rapidly approaching footsteps.

"Hi, Sayori~" Greeted a woman clad in a peach colored turtleneck sweater and blue jeans. "Thank you for bringing my baby boy home."

"Mom!" MC called out in protest as he tried to wiggle out of Sayori's iron grip. "Not in front of Sayori!"

"Oh, come now." MC's mom said as she walked over and wrapped him in a tight hug, pressing their cheeks together in a warm embrace. "There's no need to be embarrassed, Chokichi."

"M-Mom..." MC groaned out. "I asked you to call me MC from now on."

"Nope! Never gonna happen, Chokichi." She replied, slowly drawing out each syllable of his name. "You're my little treasure and your name reflects that."

MC looked over to Sayori for backup, but she had let go of his shoulder the moment his mom hugged him. She was now holding her hand up to her mouth to try and stifle her laughter as she watched the exchange between mother and son.

Turning back to his mom just in time for her to plant a big kiss on his forehead, MC groaned as he tried to wiggle free from his mother's grasp now.

Gasping in mock offense, MC's mom finally let him go. "Chokichi, how come you're not affectionate when Sayori's over?" She brought her hand up to her mouth to try and hide the spreading smile on her face. "You usually shower me with kisses as soon as you get home."

Feeling like he could never show his face to Sayori again, MC had absolutely no idea what to say to that, so he just blubbered out the first thing to come to mind. "Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!" His mom countered. "I have the pictures to prove it."

"MOM!" MC blurted out.

Turning her attention to Sayori, she ignored her son's protests. "Would you like to see them, Sayori?"

Glancing over to MC, Sayori had the most smug look on her face before she turned back to his mom. "Would I?!" Sayori replied, extremely eager to see any picture MC would be even slightly embarrassed by. "I'd love to, Mrs. Mansfield!"

"My, my. You're always so polite, Sayori." Letting out an elegant laugh, MC's mom ran a hand through her bobbed black hair. "There's no need to be so formal after all these years, you can just call me Saki."

"Kay~" Sayori replied, beginning to follow Saki towards the living room.

"And besides, Mrs. Mansfield is Chokichi's grandma." Saki added. "Now let's go find those baby pictures."

"Yay!" Sayori shouted out as she followed Saki to the living room.

MC stood in the entranceway of his house, feeling like he just wanted to curl up into a ball and die of embarrassment. Now he actually wanted to go trick-or-treating, anything to get Sayori away from his mom.

...

"And here's when Chokichi ate cotton candy for the first time." Saki said, pointing at a picture of a baby with a wide smile on his face. "Just look at how blue his adorable little face is~"

"That's one of my favorites!" Sayori shouted out, gyrating with excitement as she sat next to Saki on the living room couch, looking over the photo album that was laid across her lap. "I always love seeing these."

"I'm glad." Saki smiled. "You're in a lot of these too, after all."

Flipping the page, Saki smiled warmly as she saw all the pictures of Chokichi and Sayori. "You've been friends since you were both four, we'll have to do something special for your ten year anniversary."

"Really?!" Sayori positively beamed at that suggestion. "I can't wait!"

"There's no need to wish time away, dear." Saki said wistfully. "It'll be here soon enough."

"Hey, look!" Sayori called out, pointing towards a picture. "That's the first time MC and I went trick-or-treating!"

"My, my~ You're right." Gazing over at the picture Sayori was directing her attention towards, Saki smiled at the sight two little kids dressed up as pumpkins. "So cute~"

"H-Hey, ladies!" MC awkwardly interjected into the conversation while attempting to sound as pleasant as humanly possible. "Wha-Whatcha doing?"

While the two ladies looked over at MC, a smug grin spread across Saki's face.

Turning back to look at Sayori, Saki's smug grin didn't dissipate. "Did you hear that, Sayori? Chokichi called us ladies." She said before staring back at her son. "He must want something~" She added in a singsong voice.

"Oooh~" Sayori gasped out, adopting the same smug smile Saki had on her face. "What is it, MC?"

"I-I don't want anything!" MC lied, distraught that his mom was able to read his intentions immediately. "I jus... I just wanted to remind you that it's time to go trick-or-treating!"

"But you said you didn't wanna go trick-or-treating, MC." Sayori said as she crossed her arms. "You said it was for babies."

"He did?!" Saki said through a gasp, bringing her hand up to her mouth while doing so. "Then I guess he won't want to see the special surprise we made for him."

"Yeah." Sayori agreed.

"You mentioned that before, Sayori." MC said in a fluster. "What is it?"

Ignoring him, Sayori pointed to another photo in the album. "I like that one a lot, too."

Following Sayori's finger to the picture, Saki smiled warmly. "Ah, yes. He really is adorable there, isn't he?"

Unable to get a word in edgewise with these two, MC let out a sigh and turned to leave the room.

"Oh, Chokichi." Saki called out, causing MC to stop and look back at her. "I washed all your underwear and laid each pair out on your bed."

Standing with his jaw hanging wide open, all that MC was able to do was listen to his mom continue to speak while Sayori started snickering. "Be sure to put them away, okay?"

Utterly defeated, MC spun back around towards the direction of his room and took off towards it.

Watching him run off, Saki smiled and flipped through the photo album. "Wanna see Chokichi taking a bath in the kitchen sink?"

Sayori smiled from ear to ear. "Would I?!"

...

Entering his room in a huff, MC let out a loud and frustrated groan the moment the door was closed.

Standing with his back against the door, he glanced over to his bed and resigned himself to putting the underwear his mom had so embarrassingly decided she'd put on there.

But as he looked over the striped bed sheets, there was no undergarments to be seen.

Heading over to his bedside, MC lit up as he gazed down at the folded clothes on his bed, his happy face reflecting in the polished silver star on top of the pile.

...

Meekly stepping into the kitchen, MC cleared his throat to call attention to himself.

"There's my little cowboy!" Saki beamed, admiring over her son's chaps, shirt, vest, and the pure white hat he was holding in front of himself. "Doesn't he look cool, Sayori?"

"Yeah!" Sayori energetically agreed as she hopped up from her seat at the table. "Super duper cool!"

Now that she was standing up, MC saw that Sayori was dressed up as a cowgirl. Complete with chaps, a Western shirt, a vest, and a hat that Sayori had tied her red bow to the band of.

"We're the rootinest, tootinest cowpokes in the wild, wild west!" Sayori shouted as she made finger guns and shot them off into the ceiling.

Looking down at his hat with a smile, MC looked over to his mom. "This was the surprise?"

"Yup!" Sayori interrupted. "We know how much you love cowboy stuff!"

Saki nodded in affirmation. "Since this will be the last time either of you can go trick-or-treating, I thought you should both go as something you'd both enjoy."

"I get to be your favorite deputy!" Sayori added as she pointed to her own silver star she had proudly pinned to her vest.

Looking down at his sheriff's badge, a squiggly smile spread across MC's face. Overcome with joy as he placed his hat proudly on his head.

...

After quickly putting on their boots and spurs, Sayori pulled MC out of the house with barely contained excitement. "Are you ready for the best Halloween ever, MC?!"

Infected by her boundless enthusiasm, MC was smiling from ear to ear. "Yeah!"

Trotting around eagerly, Sayori looked back and forth between the front gate and MC. "Which way do you wanna go first, MC?!"

Before he could answer, his mom stepped out into the front yard after them. "Now hold on, no one's going anywhere until I get a picture for the album."

"Aw, do we hav-" As soon as MC started to raise his objections, Sayori clasped her arm around his neck and held him close.

"Kay~" Sayori called out merrily, having interlocked her fingers together on MC's chest so he had no way to escape her grasp.

Deciding it was best to just let his picture be taken, MC put on a nice smile for the camera.

"Okay!" Saki called out, bringing her camera up to her eye. "Say, reach for the sky!"

Far more pumped up than MC was, Sayori shouted loud enough for the both of them. "Reach for the sky!"

"Reach for the sky." MC said in unison, mostly drowned out by his bubbly deputy.

"Perfect!" Saki said after checking out the picture on the digital camera. "Now you kids have fun, but be sure to come home before it gets dark, okay?"

"Kay!" Sayori agreed loudly.

"Don't worry, Mom." MC reassured. "We'll be home soon."

Walking over to the two of them, Saki pulled both of them into a tight hug. "I'll see you both later then."

Happily hugging her back, Sayori nodded. "See you later!"

"See you later, Mom." MC said, returning her hug when he was sure Sayori couldn't see him.

Free from the group hug, Sayori slid up to MC with her back to his chest and stared determinedly at the front gate. "Let's go!"

~o~O~o~

Author's Note

Hello, everyone. I don't normally write author's notes, this is my first one in fact, but being that I haven't updated Auburn Eyes in over a month I think it's only appropriate that I offer you some sort of explanation.

I had originally intended for this chapter to be released on Halloween, and as we can all clearly tell, I missed that window by quite a bit. But over this past year I had been running for political office in my hometown of Island Heights. Besides running for Borough Council, I was also volunteering my time to help campaign for my local Congressional and Senate candidates. So of course the last week of October and up until Election Day was a busy time to be had for campaigning.

But despite my best efforts, I lost my election; as did the Congressman I was campaigning for along with the Senate candidate. So because of that I was depressed for awhile, but I'm okay now. Even though I lost, I still garnered a pretty decent chunk of the vote, and besides there's always next time. Plus, I made quite a few friends and connections while campaigning for other people, so that'll help in the future.

So things are looking up for me. I've been hired to teach history at a nearby high school while one of the teachers is on maternity leave. I'm also going to be pursuing a Master's in world history beginning in late May. But no matter how busy I get, with teaching or campaigning, I will finish this story. I really enjoy writing it and I'm honored that so many people read it, so I'm sorry that you had to wait so long for this chapter.

I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter, the next one will be coming out a lot faster than this one did, but I know that's not saying much. The next chapter will hopefully be out before the end of this month. Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day.


	12. A Thousand Words

"...MC?"

The sound of his name reverberated through MC's skull, shaking him free from his inner thoughts.

"Hm?" MC murmured out to his caller with curiosity evident in his tone of voice.

"Down here..." The familiar voice said.

Following both the sound and the directions of the voice, MC looked down and found a pair of bright, sky blue orbs looking back at him.

Standing right in front of him, with her arms extended past his field of vision, Sayori wore an expression of deep concern. "Are you okay, MC?"

"Yeah, of course I'm fine." He replied, shaking his head slightly in an attempt to dismiss her unease. "Why wouldn't I..."

As he shook his head, MC noticed Sayori's sleeves. "Your clothes..."

"Huh?" Sayori looked herself up and down from her shoes to the cuffs of her blazer. "What's wrong with them?"

"You... I thought..." MC paused for a moment. But just as Sayori opened her mouth to voice her still present concerns, MC finished his thought. "It's nothing... I just..."

"Where'd you go, MC?" Sayori asked, her arms still extended past MC's field of vision. "You kinda zoned out for a little while."

"I did...?" Furrowing his brow in confusion, MC felt that he was still holding Sayori's phone in his right hand. Staring at the now dimmed screen, MC ignored the picture of their last time trick-or-treating and raised his head to look over to the digital clock that protruded out of the wall down the hall. But as he craned his neck upwards, he felt a slight tugging sensation come from his ears.

MC stared off towards the clock and saw that, at most, five minutes had passed since he had left the club room to go and collect his friend. "Sayori..."

"Mmhmm?" She responded.

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking back down at the girl that he could now see had her hands firmly planted on his earlobes.

"You spaced out, MC!" Sayori shouted back.

"That's not what I asked." MC replied. "And besides, I know that."

"Nuh-uh!" Sayori quickly interjected. "You were all..." Deepening her voice in an attempt to sound like MC, Sayori continued. "Really, Sayori?! I did?! Good thing I have you to look out for me, I'd be lost without you!"

"I think you added a bit to that." MC chided, slipping her phone into her blazer pocket.

Moving his hands off of her clothes and up to his head, MC gently took Sayori's wrists in his hands and pulled her fingers off of his ears. "But anyway, why'd you grab my-"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sayori blurted out.

Pausing for a moment, MC thought about the question as Sayori glanced at her hands, gently resting in MC's palms.

"Because!" Sayori loudly exclaimed, before she began to whisper. "Because... didn't... didn't your Mom zone out sometimes?"

"You remember that...?" MC asked, a hint of wistful feeling in his voice. "...Yeah, she used to."

Mulling it over for a moment, MC continued. "It kinda stopped around the time we were both ten though."

"Yeah, but..." Sayori took her hands out of MC's palms and wrapped her fingers around his large hands. "Do you know if it..." She lowered her voice further. "If it started when she was your age?"

MC remained quiet.

Sayori managed to put on a weak smile as she continued to ask questions. "Or if it runs in your family?"

Considering what Sayori had just asked, MC looked around. He noticed that the multitude of snacks that Sayori had been carrying were now shoved into her school bag, which was fit to burst while it sat on a hall bench.

Turning his attention back to Sayori, MC leaned down a bit before speaking. "Y'know, Sayori. We're the only ones here." Sayori tilted her head in confusion. "You don't need to whisper."

A loud, offended gasp escaped, or rather, burst out of Sayori's mouth. Her look of confusion completely supplanted by one of irritation. "Hey! I'm worried about you, MC!" Poking her finger into his chest, she got even closer to him. "Answer the question!"

"I think your uniform is a little small on you." MC remarked, grabbing ahold of both sides of Sayori's blazer. "The buttons on your blazer just barely-"

"Don't change the subject!" Sayori yelled. "And I don't wanna hear about my uniform from a hunk that's wearing nothing but his vest!"

"Hey, I'm jus- Wait..." Reflecting on what Sayori had just said, MC's eyes narrowed in thought as he considered each word she had just used.

"Did you just..." Swatting at his hands, Sayori began avoiding MC's eye contact as he bent down and tried looking at her.

More smug than anyone had any right to be, MC smiled at Sayori. "Did you just call me a hunk~?"

"No." Sayori flatly said, still looking everywhere else in the hall besides MC's face while she intensified the swatting of his hands. "I said, you're a skunk."

Standing back upright, MC brought a hand to his chin and held his elbow in his palm. "Hmm... Maybe..."

Believing that the coast was clear, Sayori stared up at MC through her coral pink hair.

And just as she was about to speak up, MC finished his thought. "Nah, you definitely said hunk."

Flustered, Sayori puffed out her cheeks and brought her hands up to her sides. "Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!" MC countered. "Despite how often you mess with my ears, I hear everything."

While MC snapped his fingers next to his right ear to highlight his hearing ability. Sayori went back to slapping MC's hands, far harder than she had been originally.

"W-Well..." Trying all that she could to get out of this situation, Sayori racked her brain for something, anything, to change the subject and get MC to forget about what she had just called him. "Hey, uh... What was that you said about my blazer earlier? It seemed small?

"Hm?" MC hummed out, looking over an increasingly awkward Sayori. Her fear that he'd easily see through her desire to change the subject made her feel like she was about to break out into a cold sweat.

But right as she was about to cave and admit to calling him a hunk, MC answered her question about her blazer. "Yeah, that's right. It seems a bit small."

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Sayori felt at peace after successfully getting MC onto a different topic. "I-Is that so...?"

"And it's not just that." MC said. "Look, your hair is sticking out all around here."

"Ah-" Sayori gasped as MC gently ran his fingers down the side of Sayori's hair in an attempt to straighten it out.

Making a second attempt to fix the hair on the left side of Sayori's head, MC tenderly slid his fingers deeper into Sayori's hair right below her red bow and slowly brushed downwards towards her neck, making contact with her temple as he did so.

"Mmm..." Sayori closed her eyes as MC caressed the side of her head, but as the tips of his fingers made contact with her neck, Sayori pulled away slightly.

"No good, I guess." MC said after seeing how ineffective his attempt to fix her hair was. "I suppose you really need a brush for something like this..." Rubbing his hands together, MC felt as if he had something stuck on the end of his fingertips.

"My hair is just really hard to get right..." Sayori said, looking off to the side as she held the side of her face that MC had just touched.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry, Sayori." MC called out.

"Huh?" Sayori looked back at MC. "What's wrong?" She frantically grabbed the left side of her head with both of her hands. "Is it my hair? Did something fall out?!"

"What? No." Holding his hand up meekly, MC wore an apologetic, but awkward, smile. "It looks like I rubbed a little bit of your makeup off while I was trying to fix your hair..."

Staring at MC's hand, Sayori noticed slight discoloration on the tips of his fingers. Seeing that the color matched her skin tone, Sayori shook her head. "Oh! Th-That's okay, MC!"

"Really?" MC asked. "I mean, I didn't even know you wore the stuff. But I know how important makeup and beauty stuff is for girls."

"It's fine, it's fine." Sayori replied as she rapidly waved her hand to dismiss his concerns. "You didn't mess it up or anything."

"That's good." MC smiled. "If you're applying makeup, you should at least take the time to make sure your clothes are all tidy before we head out to school every morning."

"W-Well... Putting on makeup takes time, MC." Sayori interjected. "You, um... You shouldn't judge a lady for that."

"I can always get you up earlier if you need more time." MC offered, much to Sayori's chagrin. "But anyway, there's more than just your hair."

MC brushed his fingers together to remove what little of Sayori's makeup remained on him as he reached towards Sayori's head once again.

"Look." MC said. "Your bow isn't on straight, either."

As he began straightening out Sayori's red bow, she gazed up at him between his forearms.

"Here, I almost got it, Sayori." MC commented as he continued to fix her always present hair accessory.

Not hearing a single word he had just said, Sayori's eyes traveled up past MC's forearms and onto his thick biceps.

Admiring his musculature, Sayori felt a yearning in her chest. "God... How do you even fit in that..."

"Scuse me?" MC asked, a confused look on his face in contrast to the dreamy one on Sayori's.

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head after realizing that she'd just put her foot in her mouth for the second time in less than five minutes.

"Oh, uh! I, um..." Sayori's panicked and wide-eyed expression caused MC to release his grasp on her now straightened bow and plop his hand onto her shoulder.

Staring at his hand, Sayori managed to throw out an excuse before MC had a chance to question her further. "Your uniform!"

"My-" MC began.

"That's right!" Sayori shouted back, shoving her finger into his face. "I was just... um... thinking about how well you fit in your uniform despite how... despite how..." Sayori bit her bottom lip as she stared back at MC's massive arms and what little she could see of his enormous pectoral muscles poking out from under his vest. "...Big you are~"

Glancing down at himself briefly, MC shook his head in dismay. "Because I accounted for all that when I bought my uniform."

"Oh, of course. Ehehe~" Sayori replied, rubbing the back of her neck while she silently thanked every god that she could think of for helping her successfully avoid making a complete fool of herself in front of MC.

"You mean you didn't?" MC rhetorically asked, wetting his thumb with a quick lick to the digit, pressing it to Sayori's shirt collar, and rubbing vigorously.

"What are you doing?" Sayori questioned, craning her neck a little bit away from where MC was holding her collar in order to avoid getting any spiddle on her.

Shifting his thumb to the side for a moment before beginning to rub once again with increased force, MC remained focused on the collar of Sayori's shirt. "You've got a toothpaste stain on your collar right here."

"You don't have to bother with that, MC." Sayori said, tenderly touching the bow he had just fixed. "Nobody would ever notice that..."

"Nobody?" MC incredulously asked. "Then what am I, chopped liver?"

"No! You're a..." Sayori paused for a second to think of a type of food that would describe MC. "A beefcake!"

Mulling that over for a moment, MC rocked his head from side to side. "If you say so, Sayori."

"There we go." Moving his thumb away from the toothpaste stain on Sayori's collar, MC smiled at the now pristinely white collar. "And besides, Sayori. People do notice stuff like that, they just don't care enough to embarass you by pointing it out."

Leaning down towards her, MC grinned. "Fortunately, I care about you too much to worry about doing that."

Sayori tried to hide her bashful smile by turning her head. "You meanie..."

Ignoring her attempt at a comeback, MC took ahold of Sayori's blazer and began buttoning it from the bottom. "Here, let's see how you look all buttoned up."

"Ehehe~" Sayori giggled. "This is so funny."

"What is?" MC asked, making sure he inserted each button in the proper hole.

"Well..." Sayori began. "I was just thinking how weird it is to have a friend who does these kinds of things."

"Do you dislike it?" MC inqueired, pausing as he held the second button on the entrance of the hole it belonged inside.

"No, I don't mind it at all." Sayori quickly replied. "I'm happy we're like this."

"Aren't you?" Sayori asked, the question barely above a whisper as it left her lips on a quiet breath.

Gazing down at Sayori, and offering her an immediate answer while inserting the second button, MC smiled. "Absolutely."

As MC pressed the third and final button up to it's hole, Sayori's blazer tightened significantly.

"Hey, be careful..." Sayori commented. "The button might come off!"

"Why is this one so hard to close...?" MC asked, mostly to himself while he attempted to fully close the button closest to Sayori's chest.

"Looks like I'm right." MC mused. "This doesn't fit you properly."

"Ehehe~" Sayori awkwardly laughed. "It did when I bought it..."

"Well of course it did." MC sighed. "You didn't account for how much you'd grow when you got it."

Finally getting the button into its proper place, MC took half a step back and admired his handiwork. "If you buttoned it every so often you would have noticed sooner that it doesn't fit you anymore, and we could have gotten you another one, or at least gotten this one hemmed."

Looking back up at Sayori's face, MC saw a coquettish smile adorning her face. "What are you smiling about?" MC asked as a smile graced his lips as well, Sayori's good mood seemingly infecting him.

"It means my boobs got bigger again!" Sayori excitedly exclaimed.

"I'll have to take your word for that." MC replied while Sayori let out a giggle.

Looking over the now fully buttoned up Sayori, MC rested his chin in his palm. "Hmm... It feels kinda odd seeing your blazer like that to be honest."

"It's so stuffy..." Sayori remarked. "Uuu... Nope, I can't do it!" She shouted as she hastily unbuttoned her blazer.

"Phew!" Sayori exclaimed while putting her arms out to her sides and doing a little twirl in place. "That's so much better~"

"Whattaya think?" Sayori asked, ceasing her spinning to face MC.

"I think you look hunky-dory." MC complemented with a smirk and a wink.

"U-Uh..." Completely flabbergasted by MC throwing her hunk comment back at her, Sayori tried to say something back at him. "You... Y-You..."

Shifting in place before taking some small steps to the side, Sayori bent her knees as she turned away from MC to break out into a full run down the hall. "You meanie!"

Watching Sayori sprint towards the club room with a big smile on his face, MC walked over to one of the hall benches and picked up her school bag, making sure to not let any of the snacks spill out from under the unclasped flap.

With his friend's bag in tow, MC began walking back towards the club room for his first day at the Literature Club.


	13. Cloth

Alone in an empty room that would soon be bustling with the energy of her fellow club members, Yuri attempted to find a way to occupy herself while she waited for the sliding door to beckon their arrival.

Sitting at the desk where MC had tended to her wounds, Yuri began tracing her index finger along the imperfections of the desk, she was a little bored without anything to read. The only book she had brought to school with her was drying on a nearby desk, and besides, she had already read the novel cover to cover several times.

While her fingers explored the desk unconsciously, her hand brushed by the cuff of her blazer. Looking down at the arm of her uniform, Yuri could see the end of her dress shirt peeking out from under her top layer of clothing, the white cloth now dark red from her dried blood.

Rolling up the sleeve of her blazer, Yuri paused for a moment, taking in the sight of the crimson stain underneath. Pressing her finger to it, the garment felt stiff, hardened by the blood that had been slowly flowing from her forearm since the she had bumped it in the bathroom.

Undoing the button on the cuff of her dress shirt, Yuri rolled up the sleeve, the stiffened article of clothing let out several cracking sounds as it was disturbed from the position it had already begun to set in.

Her arm now completely uncovered by the cloth of her uniform, Yuri gazed at the perfectly white bandages MC had wrapped around her wounds. At the thought of MC's kindness, his gentleness, and his compassion, Yuri found a pleasant heat emanating from her chest and into the rest of her body.

As she daydreamed about MC, the thought of the gift she intended for him popped into her head.

Rolling her sleeve back down, buttoning the cuff, and fixing her blazer, Yuri stood up and turned towards the desk that the copy of Portrait of Markov was drying on. But before she made her way over to the book, another object caught Yuri's eye.

Sitting on top of a desk, neatly folded in a near perfect rectangle, was the dress shirt that MC had been wearing.

Gazing at the article of clothing, Yuri quickly spun her head in the opposite direction and stared down at the floor, ashamed of the impure thoughts that had rushed to her mind the moment she saw MC's clothes.

But despite how guilty Yuri felt, she slowly turned back towards the piece of clothing and peered at it from the corner of her vision, like a child peeking around a corner.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, and bringing her hands up to her chest, Yuri quickly walked over to the desk where the object of her desire sat.

With one hand still at her chest, Yuri slowly reached out towards the white dress shirt, as if she was afraid that the object would bite her if she moved too quickly towards it.

Pressing her fingers against the soft cotton, Yuri felt as if she could still feel a little bit of MC's warmth coming from it.

Looking over to the classroom door, Yuri breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that no one was standing outside the window, and her attention then shifted to the clock at the front of the class.

Seeing that only about five minutes had passed since MC had left, Yuri felt a little antsy as her fingers continued to rub the cloth between them. She was always the first person in the club room after classes ended, and she usually read by herself for about ten minutes before anyone else showed up.

"It should be okay..." Yuri said to herself aloud, reassuring herself as she took hold of MC's shirt.

Lifting the article of clothing up off of the desk and letting it unfold as it was raised. Yuri let out a quiet gasp at the sheer size of the garment. Yuri had seen how big MC was, both with and without his shirt. But holding the garb up in front of her made Yuri realize just how massive he really was.

The shirt was long and wide, particularly at the shoulders, to accomodate MC's broad frame. Yuri was certain that two people her size could easily fit in something this large, perhaps there was even room for a third.

At the thought of fitting into MC's clothes, a blush found itself on Yuri's cheeks. As tempted as she was to drape herself in the shirt that could easily serve as a blanket, she refrained from doing so, far too nervous that someone could walk in at any moment.

As she went to begin folding the article of clothing again, Yuri paused, she still had a few more minutes before anyone was likely to come in.

So, swallowing her nerves once again, Yuri brought the clothing up to her face and tenderly rubbed it against her cheek.

At the point of contact, Yuri's face felt nearly indescribable. A tingly feeling, almost like fireworks, sprung forth from her cheek and flowed throughout her entire body. She had never felt like this before, and continued to rub the cloth against the side of her face.

Not enough for her, Yuri took a quick glance at the classroom door and buried her face into the shirt. The sensation of New Year's fireworks intensifying and spreading throughout her.

Taking in MC's residual warmth, and the pleasantly subtle scent that lingered upon the clothing, Yuri felt as if she was on cloud nine.

Pulling the shirt back from her face, Yuri brought it into a tight hug and let out a light moan of contentment right before she was about to begin foldi-

"Yosha!"

A loud yell accompanied by the classroom door sliding open forcefully, completely shattered Yuri's train of thought causing her grip around MC's shirt to reflexively tighten.

"Yuri!" Shouted out a friendly, yet noisy voice. "MC's bullying meeeee!"

Yuri's neck slowly turned towards the new occupant, her face frozen on an expression of awkward shock as she continued to hold onto the garment she had been massaging her face with.

"Hmm?" The noisy girl sounded out. "Whatcha got there, Yuri?"

Locking eyes with Sayori, Yuri's mouth hung open, desperately searching for something to say back to her.

...

Following after Sayori's mad dash away from him, MC walked towards the club room at his own pace. After opening up the stairway door to the third floor and turning a corner, a friendly voice greeted him.

"Hi again, MC!" Monika smiled sweetly at him. "So, the rumors are true~"

"What rumors?" MC asked, noticing that Monika was staring directly at his muscular arms.

"Well, I wouldn't call them rumors, per se." Monika clarified while she leaned forward a bit and her clasped her arms behind her back, pushing her chest out a little towards MC at the same time. "I've just been hearing a few girls, and some guys too, talking about some serious eye candy walking around school."

"Really?" MC questioned in mock surprise. "I wonder who'd go around school like that?"

"Not sure." Monika shrugged coquettishly, before bringing her hands out from behind her back and pressing her right index finger against one of MC's biceps. "It'd have to be someone pretty ballsy."

MC let out a breath of amusement as she traced lines on his arm.

"Sorry if that sounded a little unlady like." Monika excused.

"I've heard worse." MC shrugged. "And I don't mind it in all honesty."

Smiling at that, and patting his bicep twice before letting go of him, Monika looked him over once again. "So how come you're only wearing your vest?"

Before MC had a chance to answer, Monika interjected with her own idea. "Ooh~ Are you gonna put on a show for us girls?"

"Sorry, not today." MC apologized to a now pouting Monika.

Seeing her cheeks puffed out caused him to chuckle, and put his arms up defensively. "Alright, maybe some other time. How about for your birthday, it's on the twenty-second of September, right?"

Gasping in delight, Monika had a huge smile on her face. "You remembered?!"

"Of course." MC replied. "I always remember my friend's birthdays."

"Aww, that's so sweet~" Monika complimented, beginning to walk at his side towards the club room. "I'll have to put a really big bow on you if you're my present."

Chuckling, MC matched his stride to Monika's. "I'll leave the bow wearing to you and Sayori."

"Fine, fine." Monika responded, brushing one of the long strands of her white bow behind her shoulder as they neared the club room. "I'm just glad to see that you didn't run away on us."

"Of course not." MC incredulously said. "I always keep my word."

"Besides, why would I try to run away?" Looking over at Monika, MC had a look of playful curiosity on his face. "Is there something about the Literature Club that I don't know?"

A soft giggle escaping her lips, Monika shrugged. "You could say that."

Raising an eyebrow at the comment, MC waited for Monika to elaborate.

"Oh, don't worry." Monika reassured. "It's less about the Club itself and more about most guys not being willing to get in touch with their sensitive side through something like literature or poetry, is all."

"Ah, I see." MC acknowledged. "Then I guess I'm not like most guys then."

"That's for sure~" Monika complimented with a pleasant smile, directing her attention back towards his muscles.

Chuckling again, MC gripped the door handle and slid it open, revealing the already bustling club room within.

"And here we are on New Year's!" Sayori shouted happily to Yuri and Natsuki, who were both huddled around her as she showed them pictures on her phone. "MC managed to balance his mandarin on his head, but mine kept rolling off."

"That's because you kept trying to balance three on your head at once, Sayori." MC said, announcing his and Monika's arrival.

Turning around with a happy gasp, Sayori beamed. "Hiya, M-"

Before she could greet either MC or Monika, Natsuki tapped Sayori on the shoulder. Swiveling her attention over to her, Natsuki began whispering into Sayori's ear. An expression of deep thought covering Sayori's face as she nodded.

Looking between the two groups, Yuri had a worried expression on her face as she sat next to both Sayori and Natsuki.

Having finished whatever she was saying to Sayori, Natsuki leaned back in her chair and folded her hands behind her head with a smug look, with an expression of resolve forming on Sayori's face.

Looking away from him and crossing her arms in a huff, Sayori pouted. "I'm not talking to you."

Snickering, MC playfully nudged Monika with his elbow before whispering into her ear. "Watch this."

Sauntering towards the group of three girls, with Yuri still worriedly looking between the two fighting friends. "Alright, then. Fair enough." MC said, lazily josling the school bag he held in his hand.

Taking a peak at him, Sayori turned back around before taking a rapid double take at what MC was holding.

"So I guess you're not interested in this, then?" He asked, holding the snack stuffed bag that Sayori left on a hallway bench before running off.

"N-No." Sayori replied, scrunching her face up to try and hide her emotions.

As she rotated away from MC again, Sayori looked back at her phone. "I-If you don't give me back my bag, I'll... I'll..." Pausing for a second to think, Sayori spun back around to face MC. "I'll show everyone that super embarrassing picture from Shirahama!"

"The beach?" Monika asked, having taken a few steps closer to MC's side to better watch the argument.

Nodding in affirmation to her question, MC gazed back towards Sayori with a fiery resolve in his eyes. "Go right ahead, Sayori."

As her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, MC leaned on a desk and put his other hand on his hip. "My policy is, I'm comfortable with my body. You know, if someone wants to help themselves to an eyeful, well, I say, enjoy the show."

As Sayori's mouth hung wide open and Yuri's face turned a dark red, Natsuki clapped her hands in delight while Monika held her finger up to her cheek in thought.

"You tell her, MC!" Natsuki called out, barely able to keep a straight face at the sight she was watching.

As MC stood in front of Sayori looking like the most smug man on God's green earth, Monika decided to add her own input into the discussion.

"Hmm... When you put it that way, MC. I'd kinda like to see that picture now." Leaning over to see the screen of Sayori's phone, Monika clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. "Pretty please, Sayori?"

Sayori turned away from Monika and turned her phone upside down on the desk.

"Aww, don't be like that, Sayori." Monika said, trotting over behind Sayori and placing her hands onto her shoulders. "Come on girls, help me convince her."

"Hey." MC interjected, an amused tone to his voice. "Don't I have any say in this?"

"Nope!" Monika pleasantly replied.

"What do you say girls?" Monika asked, before looking right at Yuri, winking, and taking on a far more sultry tone to her voice. "MC even wants us to enjoy the show~"

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Natsuki shrugged.

Pursing her lips together before nodding through the nervous feeling that was flowing through her, Yuri spoke up. "W-Well... I... I s-suppose it couldn't h-hurt..." The moment she managed to voice her opinion, Yuri tensed up and closed her eyes.

Sayori looked up to MC for permission, then after offering her a smile and a nod, she turned her phone back over and picked it up.

After pressing the home button and unlocking the device, Sayori swiftly swiped to the photo everyone was waiting to see.

Staring at the picture with an expression of concern, Sayori looked back up to MC again.

"It's okay, Sayori." MC smiled, appearing far less smug and more like his usual kind-hearted self. "You can show them the picture."

Smiling weakly, Sayori placed the phone down onto the desk, and pushed her chair back a little so the other three girls could see it more easily.

Having let go of Sayori's shoulders, Monika eagerly hopped over to see the picture, followed by Natsuki taking a look out of sheer curiosity. Yuri, far too embarrassed that she had even requested to see the picture, was practically frozen in place.

Monika frowned in disappointment the moment she laid her eyes on the picture, whereas Natsuki couldn't stop snickering as she began to hold onto her stomach in amusement.

"Boo~ MC, boo~" Monika said, clearly unhappy with the contents of the picture. "This isn't anything spicy."

At the sound of Natsuki's muffled laughter and Monika's protests, Yuri managed to tilt her head to the side and open her eyes a crack in order to take a quick peek at the picture. But as she looked at the picture, her feeling of embarrassment was washed away, and replaced with a sensation of confusion.

Overcome with the spirit of inquisitiveness, Yuri slowly slid her chair closer to the desk, and began to analyze the photo, her eyes now wide open.

To her surprise, the picture was just of MC laying on the beach with a pile of sand covering everything below his neck. But on closer inspection, Yuri could see that the sand was sculpted to look like the body of a mermaid. With intricate scaling on the tail, and huge mounds of sand that were meant to look like breasts that were topped off with large seashells to simulate a bra.

MC was smiling widely in the picture, and off to his side, wearing a red bikini with white polka dots and a bow to match, was Sayori, giving a peace sign towards the camera with a smile twice the size of MC's.

Just as she was about to ask a question, Yuri jumped in her seat as she heard a loud shout.

"Waaahhh! I'm sorry, MC!" Sayori suddenly yelled, leaping up from her seat and wrapping him up in a big hug, somehow managing to envelop his massive frame between her arms. "I didn't mean to embarrass yyyooouuu!"

Managing to pull one of his arms away from his side and out of Sayori's iron grip, MC tenderly brushed her hair. "Aw, Sayori. It's okay."

Sayori ignored him and rubbed her face against his chest.

Placing the hand he was unable to get free onto her lower back, MC lowered his head next to Sayori's ear and gently cooed to her. "There's not a single thing in the whole wide world that you could ever possibly do that wouldn't make be proud to call you my best friend."

Instead of letting him free, Sayori's grip only tightened.

...

After settling down from MC and Sayori's escapades, the Literature Club was back into a calmer swing.

Having put her phone, and by extension, the decades of photos she now had on the device, away. Sayori was now having a cheery conversation with Monika over in the corner. Meanwhile, Natsuki was rummaging around in the closet while letting out the occasional swear word.

As MC stood around the room to get his bearings, he felt a delicate tug on the back of his vest and turned around to greet whoever was trying to get his attention. "Hello, Yuri."

Yuri just stood there, nervously rubbing her hands together before returning his greeting "H-Hello..."

"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting for too long." MC said. "Finding Sayori and then getting back here took longer than I had expected."

"I-It's okay... Y-You weren't even g-gone for ten minutes." Pausing before she spoke again, Yuri smiled gently. "Th-Thank you for... For, um... K-Keeping your promise, MC..."

"Of course, Yuri. You're very welcome." MC replied. "It's important to always keep your promises, after all."

Silently ecstatic that she was able to spend time with him again, Yuri brought her hands up to her chest and nodded in agreement.

Drawing in her palm with her index finger, Yuri continued. "I-I hope this isn't too o-overwhelming of a commitment for y-you."

Just as MC opened his mouth, Yuri gave a flustered follow up. "N-Not that you aren't c-capable! I mean..." Yuri moaned quietly as she looked down at her hands.

"It's okay, Yuri." MC reassured. "I know what you meant."

Nodding in response, Yuri was delighted that he was able to understand her.

"Y'know, I was really glad to see you palling around with Sayori and Natsuki." MC said, motioning with his thumb towards where the two girls now were.

"I-I don't know if you'd call it p-palling around." Yuri clarified. "W-We were just... looking at p-pictures."

"Well, regardless of what you call it, you seemed to be enjoying yourself." MC pointed out. "I'm happy for you."

"Th-Thank you..." Yuri replied.

"How'd you all get to talking anyway?" MC asked.

"O-Oh!" Yuri blurted out, not expecting the question.

"Hmm..." Yuri hummed, grabbing ahold of several locks of her long hair and beginning to stroke it while she thought of what to say. "W-Well... I had just finished folding your s-shirt and..."

...

Staring back at Sayori, Yuri still had MC's shirt clutched in her hands. "U-Uh... Um... Th-This is..." Holding the shirt up slightly and turning it a little so Sayori wouldn't be able to see the blood on the sleeves, Yuri took a deep breath. "M-MC's s-s-shirt!"

"I know that, silly." Sayori sounded out, tilting her head to the side. "MC told me all about how he spilled water on the two of you when we were walking over."

"H-Huh...? Yuri breathed out. "H-He told you th-that...?"

"Yup!" Sayori answered. "Though I gotta say, it sure was a surprise to see him walking around with those guns hanging out."

"G-Guns?" Yuri questioned.

"Oh, you know." Sayori replied, turning her head to keep eye contact with Yuri while she closed the classroom door. "His big ol' muscles!" She shouted out, flexing her arms above her head.

"O-Oh." Yuri replied, smiling because of Sayori's antics, and the thought of MC's musculature.

"I was talking about that." Sayori said, pointing towards the book drying on a desk nearby.

Glancing over to the book, Yuri looked down at her feet. "Th-That's..." Her voice became barely louder than a whisper. "A-A present... f-for MC..."

Gasping loudly and long enough to suck all the air out of the room, Sayori's smile was so huge that it nearly took up her entire head. "A PRESENT FOR MC?!"

Breaking what little flow the conversation had, the door started to open.

"Sup." Natsuki called out to the room.

"H-Hello, Natsuki." Yuri responded with a reserved wave.

Still by the door, Sayori swiveled on her heels. "Yay!" She shouted as she pounced on Natsuki and gave her a big hug. "Natsuki's here!"

"Ugh." Was the only response Natsuki gave as she tried to wiggle free to no avail.

"Oh!" Sayori suddenly called out, letting her tiny friend go. "My mom texted me a bunch of pictures of some old photos she found at my grandparent's house up in Hokkaido."

Fishing her phone out of her blazer pocket, Sayori held it up for Yuri and Natsuki to see. "Wanna see 'em?"

"Sure!" Natsuki quickly agreed. "I'd love to see some embarrassing photos of you two."

The two of them walked further into the room, and Natsuki placed her school bag down on a random desk. "What's all this?" She asked, pointing at the articles of MC's clothes that were still on a desk.

"Th-Those are..." Yuri started, beginning to fold MC's shirt as she spoke.

"MC spilled some water on Yuri and himself." Sayori interjected. "He's so clumsy." She added, almost tripping over the leg of a chair.

"So, what? Is he just running around school naked?" Natsuki asked with a grin.

Yuri's grip tightened significantly around MC's shirt, nearly wrinkling the cloth. The mental imagery of what Natsuki had said nearly sending her mind tumbling.

"Nope~" Sayori giggled. "He only took off his blazer and dress shirt. Oh, and I guess his tie too."

As Sayori sat down, she added another thought. "Though, that would be something to see." A yearning in her voice.

Pulling up a chair next to Sayori and unceremoniously plopping down, Natsuki kicked her feet up on a nearby chair.

"Oh! Would you like to see the pictures too, Yuri?!" Sayori excitedly asked. "There are some super funny pictures in here!"

"O-Oh, um..." Feeling a little hesitant at first, Yuri looked down at the shirt she had finished folding. But looking back towards Sayori and Natsuki, a shy smile formed on Yuri's lips. "O-Okay..."

...

"A-And I put your s-shirt down right over th-there..." Yuri explained, motioning towards the garment with a nod. "Th-Then we all l-looked at the pictures."

"Y-You know the r-rest..." Yuri finished, staring at her hands the entire time that she recounted the events.

"That's..." MC began. "Wait, I thought that I had folded my shirt before I went to go find Sayori."

"Y-You did!" Yuri answered, quickly thinking of something to tell MC, anything besides the truth that is. "I-I, um... A-Accidently knocked it on the f-floor... I-I'm very sorry."

"Yuri, I've said this before." MC replied, waving his hand in order to dismiss her concerns. "I don't care about my clothes, I care about you."

"O-Oh..." Yuri turned her head in order to hide her growing blush. "Th-Thank you... I-I remember..."

"A-And..." Yuri began. "Th-Thank you for t-telling Sayori you spilled water on u-us..."

"You're welcome, Yuri." MC replied. "Anytime."

With a brief lull in the conversation, MC was the first to speak. "But like I said, I was really happy to see you interacting with the others like that, Yuri. You can never have too many good friends."

"Y-Yeah..." Yuri agreed. "I-I was... I was really n-nervous when Sayori came in." She briefly looked over to Sayori for a moment before turning back to MC. "B-But I just thought about what Dr. Alexander s-said when I met him, a-and what he wrote in m-my book..."

"Dr. Alexander?" MC inquiered. "Who's that?"

"H-He's..." Yuri paused, thinking of how to exactly explain who Dr. Alexander was. "A-An author that I'm a b-big fan of..."

"And you got his autograph? That's wonderful, Yuri." MC congratulated. "What did he write?"

"I-It started with a q-quote." Yuri answered. "I-It said, M-Man cannot r-remake himself without s-suffering, for he is b-both the marble a-and the sculptor."

"Wow." MC hummed out. "That's really deep."

"Th-Then there was a m-message for m-me." Yuri added. "W-Would you like to... h-hear it?"

"Of course." MC replied. "I'd love to."

Nodding in response, Yuri recited Dr. Alexander's message from memory. "T-Take these words to h-heart, Yuri, and may you find your..." She paused for a moment and gazed up at MC dreamily with her lavender eyes. "Muse..."

As their eyes met, Yuri was surprised to see how overjoyed MC appeared.

"Yuri... That's so wonderful." He praised, patting Yuri on the shoulder in a congratulatory gesture. "I'm happy that you've really taken what this Dr. Alexander guy said to heart. He sounds like a really great guy."

"You are too..." Yuri muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry, Yuri. I didn't quite catch that." MC said, leaning down a bit to better hear her.

"O-Oh! Um..." Yuri swiftly came up with something to say back to him. "W-Well... Y-You've really h-helped me too, MC." She looked down at her fingers while they rubbed against one another nervously. "Y-You've done so m-much for me over j-just two days... You've changed my life..."

"You've done a lot too, Yuri." Giving her another friendly rub on the shoulder, MC matched Yuri's smile. "It took a lot of courage to trust me with so much. I'm really proud of you for taking such big steps."

Yuri stood there silently, enjoying the simple contact between the two of them as she quietly repeated the word that mean so much to her. "Proud..."


	14. The Gift of Friendship

"S-So, um..." Yuri began, shyly looking off to the side as she continued her conversation with MC. "A-Anyway... I-I'm glad you're not n-n-nervous about diving headfirst into literature when you're not a-accustomed to it..."

"Don't worry, Yuri!" Sayori interjected out of nowhere, sliding up to join their conversation after finishing her chat with Monika, who was now speaking with Natsuki. "MC always gives everything one-hundred and ten percent, no matter what!"

"He always helps me out!" Sayori added. "I don't even have to ask."

Sayori began listing off activities with her fingers. "Like cooking, cleaning my room..."

While Sayori continued to name all the stuff MC helps her with, Yuri closed her eyes for a moment and brought one of her hands up to her chest, musing whimsically as she thought of everything MC had helped her with. "He's so dependable..."

"Yeah! He's super, duper dependable!" Sayori enthusiastically agreed. "He helps me make breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day!" Picking up on Yuri's quiet compliment, she continued. "Has MC helped you too, Yuri?"

"H-Huh?!" Yuri's eyes shot open in surprise, bringing her other hand up to her chest due to the shock. "W-W-Well... H-He..."

"Um... H-Helped me make t-tea..." Yuri managed to stammer out.

"Oh, yeah!" Sayori blurted out in response, a determined look on her face as she turned towards MC and began to impatiently tap her foot. "You better have apologized for spilling all that water on Yuri, MC!"

"Ah!" Yuri cried out as Sayori chastised MC. "I-It's o-okay... I-It was an a-accident..."

Tugging at the ends of her blazer's sleeves to make sure her arms were completely covered, Yuri wrung her hands together. "I-I should have been more c-careful..."

Looking back at Yuri for a second before glaring at MC again, Sayori put her hands on her hips. "Well he should still say he's sorry!"

"Sayori's right, Yuri." MC said, turning towards Yuri and offering her a polite bow. "I'm sorry."

Bringing her arms up for a moment as if to stop him from bowing to her, Yuri swiftly brought her hands back down and bowed quickly in return, accidently slamming her forehead into the top of MC's head as she did so.

Reeling back from the pain of hitting the top of MC's head, Yuri held her now injured forehead. "Ow..."

Immediately jumping into action, MC ignored the slight soreness on his own head and checked on Yuri. "Here, Yuri. Let me see your forehead."

"Are you okay, Yuri?" Sayori asked, coming to her side with an expression of deep concern to match the one on MC's face.

"I-I..." With almost a tear in her eye, Yuri opened her eyes to see MC barely half of a meter away from her face, brushing her bangs to the side to check on her forehead. Staring intently into his eyes, Yuri swallowed her nerves as her face began to go flush. "I'll be okay..."

Gently rubbing her forehead, MC let go of her bangs and took a step back. "Your head should be alright, it doesn't look like we collided hard enough for a bump to form."

"Phew!" Sayori let out, brushing imaginary sweat from her brow. "That's good. I guess your head is getting a lot of abuse today, MC."

"Yeah, I guess it is." MC agreed, rubbing the top of his head. "Anyway, what were we talking about?"

"S-Sayori said something about you h-helping her make all of her m-meals..." Yuri replied, making sure that the conversation moved away from MC taking the blame for spilling water on her.

"Oh, right." MC acknowledged. "Well I do most of the cooking because Sayori almost set her house on fire."

"R-Really?!" Yuri asked, looking between Sayori and MC.

"I-It was only one time!" Sayori interjected, trying her best to defend herself for nearly burning her house down.

"Once was enough." MC replied. "Hell, I even have the scars to prove it."

Extending his right arm out towards the two girls, MC turned it over and revealed deeply scared skin. "Sayori tried to put out a grease fire with water." Running his left hand over the tissue, he grinned slightly. "I managed to get in front of her right as the water hit the flame." Looking back towards Sayori, who was trying her best to avoid his eye contact, MC smiled fully. "At least I was able to save those cute little eyebrows from getting singed off."

"Is that so..." Sayori awkwardly replied. Despite being reminded of nearly setting her house and her best friend on fire, Sayori looked happy, and a little embarrassed, as she ran her middle finger along her left eyebrow. "Ehehe..."

"Well..." Sayori paused for a moment to look MC over. "You are pretty strong, MC... A little fire barely even hurt you..."

Wanting to know where she was going with this, MC just stood there and smiled at Sayori.

"I mean... Here, Yuri. You can back me up on this, right?" Sayori asked, grabbing ahold of MC's arm. "Just look at this."

"I-I'm looking..." Yuri replied, staring directly at MC's muscles.

Playing along, MC let Sayori lift up his right arm up a bit. "Here, check it out." She said before slapping his bicep hard enough that the noise reverberated throughout the entire room. "Solid meat."

Their attention drawn by the loud noise, Monika and Natsuki looked over to see what was going on.

"Aww, am I just a big muscle man to you, Sayori?" MC asked with a chuckle.

"Of course not." Sayori replied. "You've also got a pretty face."

"You hear that, Yuri?" MC asked, looking extremely pleased with himself. "She thinks I'm pretty."

"I'd say you're more handsome than pretty." Monika commented, before the now fidgeting Yuri had a chance to reply to MC's statement.

"How very flattering." MC mused, happy as a clam.

"Hey, beefcake!" Natsuki shouted as she walked over to the group. "I don't know if you plan to just come here and have your ego stroked and your body ogled at, or what..." She said, glaring at Monika at the mentioning of ogling, who simply shrugged in response. "But if you don't take us seriously, then you won't hear the end of it."

"Natsuki, you certainly have a big mouth for someone who keeps her manga collection in the clubroom." Monika said, her hand on her hip.

"M-M-M...!" Natsuki found herself stuck between saying Monika and manga.

"Manga is literature!" She shouted, before stomping away from the group and defeatedly plopping into a seat.

"Don't worry, I've got her." Monika said before she walked over to Natsuki and knelt down next to her.

"How motherly..." Sayori mused, looking on as Natsuki turned away a bit in her seat and crossed her arms as Monika started talking to her. "You're kinda like that too, MC."

"What, motherly?" He asked with a grin.

"No." Sayori responded with a smile that quickly turned to an expression of contemplation. "Well... maybe..." She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "You're just really... really... what's the word?" Sayori asked aloud before quickly blurting it out. "Aesthetic! You're very aesthetic, MC!"

"I-I think you mean em-empathetic..." Yuri pointed out meekly.

"Yeah, that!" Sayori happily agreed.

"Well regardless, I'll take the compliment." MC said. "Thank you, both of you."

Seeing how brightly Sayori smiled when she looked at MC, Yuri seemed just ever so downcast. "Y-You two are really good f-friends, aren't you?" She smiled sadly. "I-I might be a little j-jealous..."

"How come?" Sayori asked. "You and MC can become really good friends too!"

"U-Um..." Playing with her long hair in an attempt to calm her nerves, Yuri looked away from both MC and Sayori.

"That's exactly right, Sayori." MC said, causing Yuri to peek over to him from the corner of her eyes. "I'd love to be friends with you."

A squiggly little smile spread itself across Yuri's face as she began looping her fingers through her hair.

"Oh, oh!" Sayori suddenly called out. "Yuri even brought you something today, you know~"

"W-Wait!" Yuri stammered out, her hands quickly going up to her chest. "S-Sayori..."

"Really?!" MC happily gasped. "For me?!"

"U-Um..." Yuri began, starting to play with the little red ribbon on her uniform as she kept talking. N-Not really..."

"Don't be shy~" Sayori encouraged with a big smile. "MC loves surprises."

"I-It's really n-nothing..." Yuri clarified.

"Yuri, it's okay." MC said in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"N-Never mind! S-Sayori made it sound like a b-big deal when it's really n-not..." Staring down at her feet, Yuri went back to nervously playing with her hair as she mumbled quietly. "Uuuuh, what do I do...?"

"Eh?" Noticing how anxious Yuri had become, Sayori's smile was replaced with an expression of worried guilt. "I'm sorry, Yuri, I wasn't thinking..."

Walking over to try and apologize, Sayori extended her arms to try and give Yuri a hug. But the moment Sayori got within arm's reach, Yuri backed away from her, holding onto her long hair so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Surprised that she had upset Yuri so much, Sayori looked over to Monika for help, but saw that she was still talking to Natsuki, who was at least now looking at Monika without her arms folded over in a huff.

Unsure of what to do, Sayori turned to MC for help. "He-" But she saw that her large friend was already going over to Yuri.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Yuri." MC softly cooed, placing a gentle and reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I didn't come in here with the expectation that I'd be getting anything in return. So any kind gesture of yours is greatly appreciated."

At MC's kind words, Yuri started to release the firm hold she had on her hair, but still had her eyes planted squarely on her feet. Seeing that MC had the situation under control, Sayori slinked away in order to give them some privacy to talk.

MC gave Yuri a comfortable squeeze on the shoulder intended to dispel her fears. "Whatever it is, I know I'll love it."

"P-P..." Yuri let her hair flow freely through her fingers until it hung back in its natural position. "P-Promise...?"

"I promise, Yuri." MC replied, letting go of her shoulder after offering it a friendly pat. "I won't make a big deal out of the gift if you don't want me to."

Raising her head up slowly, Yuri looked over to the nearby desk that had her gift resting upon it. "Alright..."

With several small steps, Yuri picked up the nearly dry copy of Portrait of Markov with both of her hands, treating the novel like a piece of fine China. The damp pieces of paper towel that rested between the pages sagged along the top edge of the back cover.

Looking back down at her water damaged present, Yuri ran her thumb along the moist spine. "H-Here..."

"I-I didn't..." Yuri extended her arms towards MC with the book held securely in her hands. "D-Didn't want y-you to feel..." She continued to stare into the soggy eye on the cover. "L-Left out..."

Having brought his hands forward, Yuri tenderly placed her gift into MC's waiting palms, savoring the pleasant contact her fingers made against his hands as she transferred the book to him.

"S-So... So I-I stopped by the b-bookst... bookstore on my way h-home yesterday and I, um..." Tilting her head up to take several quick peeks between MC's face and the gift he now held, Yuri felt her heart to begin to beat faster. "P-Picked out a book I thought y-you might enjoy."

"I-I've read it b-before, a-and it's a short read!" Yuri added, a bit louder than she intended to. "S-So it should... i-it should k-keep your attention, even if y-you don't usually read."

"N-Not that you have a s-short attention span, o-or anything!" Yuri blurted out in an attempt to clarify her statement.

"A-And I thought w-we could, y-you know..." Clearing her throat in an attempt to calm her nerves, Yuri continued to face MC, but avoided eye contact. "D-Discuss it... i-if you wanted..."

Observing each and every movement MC made with the book as he looked it over, Yuri unconsciously held her breath for what felt like an eternity waiting for him to say something back to her.

"Yuri..." MC began.

"Y-Yes?!" Yuri shouted out without exhaling.

"I love it, thank you very much!" At the sound of MC's enthusiastic gratitude, Yuri let out the deep breath that she had been holding.

"R-Really?!" Yuri eagerly exhaled, appearing as if a great burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Yeah!" MC replied, matching Yuri's happy tone. "I'd really enjoy discussing a novel with you."

Tilting her head down slightly in an attempt to hide her giddy smile, Yuri nodded vigorously. "M-Me too."

"Hmm... It's pretty much dry." While MC turned the book over in his hands, he felt the text block of the still closed novel. "But what do you say we let it sit out for a little while longer? I wouldn't want to open it now and risk damaging such a lovely gift."

"S-Sure! Of... Of course..." Yuri agreed, watching as MC turned to go and sit the book back down where it had originally been drying. "Lovely..." She whispered to herself.

"U-Um!" Yuri suddenly called out, before MC took a step.

"Yes, Yuri?" MC said, acknowledging her.

"S-Sayori is right..." Anxiously rubbing her fingers together, Yuri swallowed her nerves as she gripped her hands together. "Y-You are very, um... em-empathetic..."

Looking back at Yuri as she cautiously met his gaze, MC smiled while he tapped the spine of the book in his possession. "I'm paraphrasing here a bit. But someone my father really admires once said, a true friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read."

Her giddy smile now on full display, MC sat the book back down on it's impromptu drying rack and walked back over to her. "And about earlier, Yuri. Having someone that you can freely share your thoughts and concerns with, without feeling ashamed, is a very important thing to have."

"So if you'd ever like to get together and talk, about yourself, or books, or anything really." MC continued. "I'd be more than happy to be there for you."

"MC..." Yuri breathed out, her gaze shifting down from his eyes and onto his lips.

"Okay, everyone!" A very cheery Monika suddenly called out to everybody in the room. Causing Yuri to break out of her stupor. "Why don't we share the poems we wrote now?"

"Yay~!" Sayori yelled. "MC, I can't wait to read yours!"

"So are we all gonna read our poems in front of everyone?" Natsuki asked, exiting the closet.

At the thought of reading her poetry in front of everyone, Yuri's entire body tensed up.

"Nope!" Monika answered, immediately causing Yuri's posture to relax.

"We're gonna draw straws!" Monika said. "Well... chopsticks, but you get the idea." Pulling the four utensils out of her blazer pocket, Monika held them in her fist. "Whoever gets the matching chopsticks will go together, I've got two short and two long. So who'd like to go first?"

"I would!" Sayori shouted, waving her arm wildly.

"Sure thing, Sayori." Monika smiled, holding her hand out towards the rapidly approaching girl.

"What about you, Monika?" MC asked, while Sayori made her way over to her.

"I'm sitting this round out." Monika replied. "The chopsticks were just an idea I had after I ate lunch. I thought it'd be a fun way to choose who we share our poems with for the first time, we can just choose our partners after the first round."

"Wait." Natsuki groaned. "Were those all in your mouth?"

"Of course not, silly." Monika responded. "I got all of these from the cafeteria, they're all brand new."

"Alright!" Sayori said, hopping down in front of Monika and adopting a stance for good luck.

Rubbing her hands together vigorously, Sayori hovered her hand over the waiting chopsticks, making a claw with her thumb and forefinger.

"Come on, we don't got all day!" Natsuki bemoaned.

But Sayori was unable to hear Natsuki's complaint, she was in the zone.

"Okay!" Sayori roared, grabbing ahold of one of the chopsticks "I'm gonna get a big one!"

Rapidly pulling the piece of wood out from Monika's hand, Sayori's arm flung up before she quickly brought it back down to eye level to check on the length of her prize.

"Oh..." Sayori groaned, looking at the short chopstick. "Oh, well!"

"Who's next?" Sayori hummed, cheerily skipping away from Monika."

Watching Sayori's display with an awkward smile, Monika motioned for the next participant to come forward.

"I'm not following that act." Natsuki said, her feet firmly planted where they were.

"Would you like to go next, Yuri?" MC politely asked.

"M-Me?!" Yuri asked, still a bit shaken by the raw energy Sayori emitted. "O-Okay..."

Meekly walking over to Monika, Yuri simply brought her hand up to select one of the three remaining chopsticks.

Right as she was about to select one of the chopsticks, Monika turned her hand slightly so a different one rested between Yuri's fingers.

Looking at her with a confused expression, Monika only winked at Yuri and jostled her hand a little to encourage her to take the chopstick.

Turning her attention back to the chopstick, Yuri began to slowly pull it out of Monika's hand.

As the end of the utensil left Monika's grasp, Yuri stared at the long piece of wood. Gawking between the chopstick and Monika, Yuri swallowed nervously as she turned around and walked back to where she had been standing beside MC.

"How about we do the last two at the same time?" Monika asked.

"Fine by me." Natsuki said as she began heading towards Monika.

"Sure." MC agreed, following in Natsuki's footsteps.

Holding the two remaining chopsticks in her hand, Natsuki stood to Monika's right and MC to her left.

"I'll just take the closest one." Natsuki said, grabbing hold of the chopstick adjacent to her.

"An excellent choice~" Monika praised.

"Alright, then I guess this one's mine." MC mused, placing his fingers onto the only unspoken for chopstick.

"Yup!" Monika beamed at him. "Now both of you, go ahead and pull them out."

Simultaneously removing the chopsticks from Monika's grasp, Natsuki looked over to Sayori and Yuri on the other side of the room. "Alright, Sayori. I guess it's you and me."

"Alright!" Sayori squealed. "I get to see Natsuki's cute poem first!"

"Uwa!" Natsuki spat out, shuffling away from the rapidly approaching Sayori. "It's not cute! Don't call me or my poems that!"

Running away from Sayori, who had a wrinkled sheet of loose leaf torn from a spiral notebook in her hand, Natsuki stood by the desk she had placed her school bag on and opened it up to retrieve her own poem while Sayori excitedly jumped up and down right next to her.

"Go get her, MC!" Monika commanded, slapping him on the ass for encouragement.

Following her orders, MC sauntered over to Yuri with a smile on his face and a pat on his ass. "You got it, Club President!"

"Wow, Sayori wasn't kidding." Monika mused to herself, gazing at MC's backside as he walked over to Yuri. "He is pretty solid~"


	15. Eyes of Heaven

"Hello again." MC greeted, standing in front of Yuri after retrieving his poem.

"H-Hello." Yuri replied, a clear apprehension laced in her voice as she held a well worn purple journal in the space between herself and MC.

Picking up on Yuri's unease, MC tilted his head in a friendly manner. "What's wrong?"

"I-Is your..." Not daring to look him in the eye when she asked this, Yuri stared off in Monika's direction. "B-Behi... Behind a-alright...?"

"Behind? That's quite proper of you." MC playfully teased.

"Y-You know what I-I mean!" Yuri shot back, endeavouring to sound as assertive as she possibly could.

"I know." MC placated. "I'm sorry for teasing you, Yuri."

"Th-That's..." Tilting her head down a bit, Yuri silently chastised herself for not picking up on his attempt to be friendly. "That's okay..."

Looking back up at him and feeling a bit caught off guard after coming face to face with his bright smile again, Yuri gently stroked the leather exterior of her journal with her thumbs.

"My behind is perfectly fine, Yuri. I appreciate your concern." MC thanked, offering her a polite nod.

"O-Oh... Th-That's good..." Yuri replied.

"And besides..." MC began, brushing the back of his pants off. "That's far from the first time someone's spanked me at school."

Her cheeks turning flush, Yuri hunched down and hid behind her journal, the shade of the leather perfectly matching her hair clip.

"Yup, that's for sure!" Monika called out from a nearby desk. "It's a popular game among the girls to dare each other to smack MC on the... what was it you said, Yuri?" She playfully asked with a tilt of the head. "Bottom?"

Turning around to look at Monika, MC shrugged his shoulders. "Aww, and here I thought they all did that because of my personality."

"It's hard to stare at a personality." Monika replied, before she began twirling her finger. "Now turn back around, I was enjoying the view~"

Braving a peek from under the little diary that was acting as her shield, Yuri took a look down at the part of MC that so many girls around school have been slapping.

"I-It is really nice..." Yuri said softly.

"Hmm?" MC hummed while turning back around to face her. "What is, Yuri?"

Her eyes shooting back up to his face before he even turned halfway back towards her, Yuri felt a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck as she tried to think of something to say back to him.

"O-Oh! I-I, um..." Yuri stared back down at the journal in her hands, as if it would contain the key to getting out of the situation she had gotten herself into.

As she looked back up at MC, Yuri caught a glimpse of Monika from behind his shoulder.

Leaning up on her desk so that Yuri could better see her, Monika cupped her hands around her mouth and was silently mouthing words for Yuri to decipher.

"Y-Your physicality!" Yuri stammered out, before her face contorted into an expression of horror after she realized what she had just said.

"...Physicality? MC asked with a nice smile, along with a perplexed look.

"Personality!" Monika said in a stressed whisper. "I said personality!"

Unable to hear Monika's clarification as her eyes flitted wildly between her and MC, Yuri froze up and stared down at her journal, pursing her lips and closing her eyes while silently wishing she could just disappear.

MC glanced over his shoulder at Monika with an irritated look, who avoided his gaze by turning around in her seat to watch Sayori gush over Natsuki's poem.

His exasperation melting away the moment he faced Yuri, MC looked over at a pair of chairs nearby and started walking over to them.

But before even taking two steps, MC felt a delicate tug on the back of his vest.

"I'm not going anywhere, Yuri." MC gently said. "I'm just getting us some chairs so we can sit down. Okay?"

Without a word, the grip on his clothing was released.

...

"Lemme see! Lemme see! Lemme see!" Sayori shouted, jumped up and down next to Natsuki excitedly.

"Fine, fine!" Natsuki yelled back, finally digging her poem out of her school bag. "Here, and don't you dare rip it, jumping around like that."

Ceasing her hopping immediately, Sayori eagerly accepted Natsuki's poem and began pouring over its contents.

...

Eagles Can Fly

Monkeys can climb

Crickets can leap

Horses can race

Owls can seek

Cheetahs can run

Eagles can fly

People can try

But that's about it

...

"Aww~" Sayori squealed, hugging Natsuki's poem tightly. "Your poem is so cute, Natsuki! I love it!"

"Cute?!" Natsuki snarled, before just letting out a sigh. "Well what else? What specifically did you love about it?"

Leaping next to Natsuki and poking the poem with her index finger, Sayori ran her digit along the text. "I love all the animals!"

"...And?" Natsuki asked, crossing her arms. "What else?"

"Hm?" Sayori sounded out, staring back at Natsuki blankly. "What do you mean?"

"You...!" Natsuki angrily began.

"I-I like all the activities that they're doing." Sayori awkwardly giggled. "Like the climbing, and running, and stuff... Ehehe..."

Looking as if she was about to pop a blood vessel, Natsuki let out a sigh as her shoulders slumped down in a huff. "Just... let me see your poem."

"With gusto!" Sayori roared, pulling her poem out of her blazer pocket in a swift motion, unfolding the wrinkled sheet of loose leaf, and holding it out for Natsuki to accept.

As Natsuki took ahold of the paper with her index finger and thumb, Sayori let go of the poem and began pumping her arms up and down with barely contained excitement.

Looking up from the poem and into Sayori's eyes, Natsuki could see that they were aglow with eager passion.

Grimacing, Natsuki brought the limp poem up to her face with only a small, quiet complaint. "Oy vey."

...

Dear Sunshine

The way you glow through my blinds in the morning

It makes me feel like you missed me.

Kissing my forehead to help me out of bed.

Making me rub the sleepy from my eyes.

Are you asking me to come out and play?

Are you trusting me to wish away a rainy day?

I look above. The sky is blue.

It's a secret, but I trust you too.

If it wasn't for you, I could sleep forever.

But I'm not mad.

I want breakfast.

...

"Where do you get off?" Natsuki grumbled.

"Hm?" Sayori tilted her head. "Nowhere, I walk home with MC everyday."

Opening her mouth, but waiting so that she could recover from the sheer stupidity what she had just heard, Natsuki angrily shoved Sayori's poem back into her possession. "I'm not talking about the train, you dolt. I'm talking about calling my poem cute!"

"Whataya mean?" Sayori innocently asked.

"Just look at yours!" Natsuki said, putting her hands on her hips. "All that stuff about sunshine kissing you and wishing away a rainy day, that's way cuter than what I wrote!"

"Really?!" Sayori happily gasped. "That's so sweet of you, Natsuki!"

"That's not-" Before Natsuki could clarify what she meant, Sayori leapt over to her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

Trying to wiggle free, Natsuki spotted Monika looking over at them with an extremely smug expression. Making eye contact, Monika went from smug to making a kissy face at Natsuki.

Grumbling as Sayori nuzzled the top of her head, Natsuki slowly brought her hands to the small of Sayori's back, reciprocating her hug.

...

Sitting side to side, with their backs to the rest of the classroom. Yuri kept her gaze on the cover of her journal, her thumb flitting between the bottom edge and text block as she quietly breathed to help herself calm down.

"That's a very pretty journal." MC finally remarked after a few minutes of silence, sitting next to her with his hands resting atop a piece of paper on his lap. "I love that shade of purple."

Sneaking a glance at him, their eyes met for a split second. But without a word, Yuri simply looked back into the intricate design work on the leather exterior of her journal.

"The pattern is really cool." MC complimented. "Was it a gift?"

"F-From..." Yuri began, shifting in her seat slightly. "My father..."

"H-He wanted to give me a p-place to record the words I... I c-couldn't say aloud... W-Would you... um..." She began rubbing the journal's latch in between her index finger and thumb. "L-Like to... s-see..." Their eyes met again, but this time Yuri stared deeply into MC. "S-See some...?"

With her question, Yuri undid the clasp and opened her journal close to the back cover.

"I'd love to." MC answered, graciously accepting the repository for Yuri's most intimate thoughts.

...

Ghost Under The Light

The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow.

Bathing.

It must be this one.

The last remaining streetlight to have withstood the test of time.

The last yet to be replaced by the sickening blue-green of the future.

I bathe. Calm; breathing air of the present but living in the past.

The light flickers.

I flicker back.

...

"Yuri..." MC breathed out, staring at her poem. "This is-"

"I-I'm sorry I have such t-terrible handwriting!" She blurted out, cutting him off.

"What?" MC asked, turning towards her. "What are you talking about? This is incredible."

"I-In..." Yuri felt a lightness in her heart that completely swept away any remaining fear she had over sharing her writing.

"And your handwriting is far from terrible, Yuri." MC continued. "It's quite elegant in all honesty."

Gasping happily, she looked back down at her poem and then back at MC. "Thank you..."

"It's very descriptive." MC commented.

"I-It wasn't too short?" Yuri asked. "I usually write l-longer poems..."

"Not at all." MC answered. "After all, what's important is the emotions that something conveys, not the length or size." At that last point, MC took a glance over to Monika to make sure she wasn't going to make some sort of comment.

"I'm... I'm really glad that you l-like it." Yuri replied. "I-I'll be honest... Since it's our f-first time sharing, I-I wanted to write something a little more m-mild." Scooting a bit closer to MC, Yuri fiddled with a length of her hair that rested on her lap. "S-Something easy to digest, I suppose."

"I'd love to hear your thought process behind this." MC said, tapping his finger on the page the poem rested upon.

Smiling dreamily, Yuri nodded happily. "Sure!" Moving even closer to him, their shoulders touched. "O-Oh! E-Excuse me..." Yuri sheepishly said.

MC chuckled softly. "It's okay, Yuri." Lifting his left arm up, he placed it on top of the backrest of Yuri's chair.

"How's that?" He asked, holding Yuri's journal closer between the two of them.

Gazing up the length of MC's arm, towards the parts of his muscular chest that peeked out from under his vest, and finally resting her eyes onto his now even closer face. "Mmhmm!" Yuri nodded feverishly. "Y-Y-You're perfect!" Pausing briefly, Yuri added a short addendum to her statement. "Wh-Where you're s-sitting, I-I mean..."

"I know what you meant, Yuri." MC said with a pleasant smile. "And don't worry about earlier, it's pretty hard to read lips from this distance when you're not used to it." He added with a motion over his shoulder in Monika's direction.

"H-How did y-you..." Yuri began, looking over at Monika, who was giggling at the sight of Natsuki wrapped up in Sayori's hug.

"I hear everything." MC said with a grin as he lightly tapping his ear. "I heard her say that she said personality, not physicality."

"O-Oh..." Yuri muttered, turning back around and facing straight towards the wall. "W-Well... even so..." Swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat, she stared at her journal, still resting in MC's strong hands. "Y-Your, um... ph-physical presence is..." Unable to meet his eyes, she looked down at his powerful chest. "Quite n-nice to... have around..."

Her gaze firmly planted on MC's pectoral muscles, partly due to her nervousness and partly because the view was nice. Yuri didn't even think about trying to take a quick glance up at him.

"Really?" MC breathed out, breaking the momentary silence. "That's very flattering, Yuri. Thank y-"

"B-But your personality is g-great too!" She blurted out, cutting him off again. "I... I really like..." She paused to clear her throat. "I really l-like how nice you are..."

Peeking up at him, Yuri was met with an amiable smile. "Thank you, Yuri. It's important to be nice." Looking back down at her poem, MC's smile became even more warm. "To be honest, I think it's the most important thing someone can be."

"I-I... I think so, too." Yuri agreed, following MC's line of sight down onto her poem.

"I really like the bit near the end, about breathing the air of the present but living in the past." MC remarked, pointing at the line of text. "That's a really cool way to symbolize feelings of nostalgia."

"I-I'm glad!" Yuri gushed. "I-I think that in-incorporating your own thoughts, f-feelings, and experiences into your writing is what makes it sp-special."

"I feel the same way, Yuri." MC complimented. "Write what you know, right?"

"Y-Yeah." Yuri nodded, looking over to the piece of paper resting on MC's lap. "C-Can I read your poem now... please?"

"Of course." MC replied, gently handing Yuri's journal back to her and lifting up the piece of paper that contained his poem.

"H-Here..." Yuri called out, her journal still open and held in between them. "Y-You can put your poem on t-top. S-So we can read it t-together too..."

"Sure." MC agreed, placing his poem on top of Yuri's open journal with a delicate motion.

Moving his hand underneath the journal's spine to support it, MC's fingers gently brushed against Yuri's.

A hushed gasp escaping her lips, Yuri's fingers reflexively pulled back, but she still held the journal along with MC.

...

Eyes of Heaven

Like the light from a dead star

All that we strive for may be lost

But no matter what our dreams may be

Achieving them should be worth any cost

But just because something's time has passed

Does not mean it has lost its luster

We must continue to work towards becoming all that we can be

With every ounce of strength that we can muster

...

Yuri silently read MC's poem, her lips slightly parted as her eyes lightened up with each completed line. "...Exceptional."

"Really?" MC asked, surprise laced in his voice. "That really means a lot coming from someone as well versed in literature as you are."

Yuri stared up from the poem and at the man himself, with a confused look on her face. "D-Did I say that out loud...?"

"I...!" Covering her mouth, Yuri groaned quietly before she covered her entire face. "Uu..."

"He's going to hate me..." Yuri quietly said under her hands.

"I could never hate you, Yuri." MC said, attempting to alleviate Yuri's concerns while he brought his arm up from the backrest of Yuri's chair and placed a kind hearted hand on her left shoulder.

Sliding her hands down her face and stopping at her nose, Yuri looked over at MC, a blush peeking out from beneath her fingertips. "R-Really...?"

"Yes, really." MC confirmed, patting Yuri on the shoulder.

"Th-That's great to know." Yuri replied, sliding her hands down the rest of her face and placing her hand back onto her journal. Her fingers tapping into MC's once again, but this time Yuri kept her hand exactly where it was.

"S-So..." Yuri took a deep breath before continuing, her chest nearly touching MC as it came forward. "W-What kind of writing e-experience do you have?"

"T-The imagery of the d-dead star and your use of l-language indicates that you've w-written a lot of poetry before." Yuri added.

"Really...?" MC asked, a huge smile on his face. "Wow, that's a huge compliment coming from you." Chucking softly, MC adjusted in his seat. "This is actually my first time writing poetry."

"Huh...?" Staring at MC blankly, Yuri looked down at his poem and then back at him. "...W-Well, I know that!"

"I-I just meant... u-um..." Yuri trailed off, unable to find an excuse.

Turning her attention back towards MC's poem, Yuri traced her finger along the words of the poem, as if breaking it down more thoroughly.

"...Yeah. O-Okay..." Yuri began, pulling her finger back and forming a fist, discovering her train of thought. "Th-This is the reason I-I was able to tell."

Gazing back up at MC, Yuri started her lecture. "I-It's just that there are specific writing h-habits that are usually ty-typical of new writers."

"A-And having been through that m-myself, I kind of learned to pick up on them. I think the most n-noticeable thing I recognize in new writers is that they try to make their style very deliberate." Yuri tapped a finger on the second and fourth line of MC's poem. "Such as your use of rhyming."

"In other words, they tend to pick a writing style separate from the topic matter, and they form-fit the two together; again, like your application of a rhyme scheme." She again tapped the second and fourth line. "Though because of that, the end result is that both the style and the expressiveness are weakened."

"Of course, that's not something you can be blamed for." She clarified. "There are many different skills and techniques that go into writing even a simple poem. Not just finding them and building them, but getting them to work together is probably the most challenging part."

"It might take you some time, but it all comes with patience, learning by example, and trying new things." Yuri added with a refined smile.

"Ah!" She called out, her smile faltering. "I-I'm rambling, I ap-apologize."

"Don't apologize, Yuri." MC breathed out, as he was still attempting to take in everything that Yuri had just said. "That was incredible! I've never even thought about any of that."

"I-It's nothing, really!" Yuri blushed.

"Nothing?" MC incredulously asked. "You just taught me more in a few minutes than my language arts teacher has taught me all year."

"...Y-You think so?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah, absolutely!" MC confirmed.

"Ah, You know..." Yuri looked down at her lap with a small smile. "I was really nervous about doing all of this." Turning to meet MC's gaze, Yuri's smile widened. "But in the end, I enjoyed it."

"I'm going to keep doing my best for you, MC." Yuri beamed, sliding her hand over MC's, as they held the journal together.

Matching Yuri's smile, MC nodded. "Me too."


	16. Dreams of Love & Literature

"And that's how MC saved Christmas!" Sayori proudly exclaimed, signaling an end to her story.

"Wait... wait..." Natsuki scoffed from her desk, holding her hands up as she tried to process all of the information Sayori just laid out in front of her. "How'd he fit in the suit?"

Before Sayori could answer, Natsuki shot out another question. "And you're telling me he just glued the beard onto his face? What if he couldn't get it off?"

Furrowing her brow in thought, Sayori hummed as she tried to come up with an answer.

"All of that kind of makes me see him in a new light." Monika added, leaning against a desk as she glanced over at MC while he continued to speak with Yuri.

"Hmm... Huh?" Sayori exclaimed, Monika's comment derailing her train of thought. "Whattaya mean?"

"Oh, well..." Monika began as she turned back towards both Sayori and Natsuki. "I mean, I've always known that he was super nice, but I never knew he was THAT nice."

"Just doing all of that, completely out of the blue." She continued, glancing back at MC again. "I just think that's really wonderful."

With a brief silence between the three girls, Sayori suddenly gasped. "Oh! He probably could have shaved it off." She giggled for a second at how obvious the answer seemed. "He does that every morning, so maybe he could've done that if the beard got stuck on his face."

"He shaves every day?" Natsuki asked, resting her chin on both of her hands.

"Yup!" Sayori replied. "His scruff comes in pretty quick, so by the morning he kinda needs it."

"He is pretty well kempt." Monika complimented.

"I'm glad he does it." Sayori continued. "It makes his face so smooth and silky!"

"Oh, really~?" Monika hummed out, placing her hands against the edge of the desk she was leaning against and grinning at Sayori. "I'll have to check for myself later~"

"Y-You can just take my word for it!" Sayori blabbered out.

"Nope~" Monika playfully replied. "I'd be willing to let it go if you just said his face was smooth, but silky? I can't pass that up."

Doing her best to hide her now panicked expression as she tried to remain eye contact with Monika, Sayori couldn't help herself from looking over Monika's shoulder towards MC and Yuri.

"I, um..." Sayori began. "I'm gonna go check out MC-"

"Oh, I've been doing that since I saw him in the hall." Monika giggled.

"HIS POEM!" Sayori shouted as she trotted off. "I'M JUST GONNA LOOK AT HIS POEM!"

As they watched the now blushing Sayori run off, Monika pushed herself off of her desk and plopped down in the open chair next to Natsuki and held out a composition notebook towards her. "So wanna share poems now?"

...

Hole in Wall

It couldn't have been me.

See, the direction the spackle protrudes.

A noisy neighbor? An angry boyfriend? I'll never know. I wasn't home.

I peer inside for a clue.

No! I can't see. I reel, blind, like a film left out in the sun.

But it's too late. My retinas.

Already scorched with a permanent copy of the meaningless image.

It's just a little hole. It wasn't too bright.

It was too deep.

Stretching forever into everything.

A hole of infinite choices.

I realize now, that I wasn't looking in.

I was looking out.

And he, on the other side, was looking in.

...

With each passing line, Natsuki's expression grew more and more perplexed. Until, by the end of the poem, she was practically glaring at the piece of paper in her hands.

"It's..." Natsuki's tongue moved around her mouth, attempting to find a word to describe what she was looking at. "Complex... I guess...?"

"You think so?" Monika asked, seemingly happy with Natsuki's description of her writing. "Thanks! I like poems that are really mysterious, especially ones that don't exactly have a clear meaning at first."

"I think it's interesting to make the reader second guess themselves, you know?" Monika asked.

"I guess so..." Natsuki responded, taking her poem out of her pocket and placing it on the blank page of Monika's notebook, comparing the two poems to one another. "I kinda like more direct stuff."

"Well you are a direct person." Monika mused while Natsuki's eyes darted between their two poems.

"Can I read yours now?" Monika requested, leaning down slightly so she could be closer to Natsuki's eye level.

Grimacing slightly, Natsuki let out a huff as she lifted her poem off of the notebook and passed it over to Monika. "Fine, but you're probably not gonna like it."

...

Eagles Can Fly

Monkeys can climb

Crickets can leap

Horses can race

Owls can seek

Cheetahs can run

Eagles can fly

People can try

But that's about it

...

"Aww~" Monika happily giggled as she finished reading Natsuki's poem. "Sayori was right, your poem is really cute."

Feeling as if a vein was beginning to bulge out of her forehead, Natsuki groaned. "Is that it?"

"No, not at all." Monika replied. "Like you said, you like more direct stuff. And this is very direct."

Natsuki crossed her arms over in a huff. "Well... Sorry I can't be all mysterious and full of double meaning like you are."

"Aw, come on." Monika implored. "Don't be like that, Natsuki. I enjoyed your poem, and so did Sayori."

"She loved it so much that she even gave you a big hug." Monika continued.

At the mention of the hug, Natsuki looked away from Monika and towards the back of the classroom.

"In fact, as grumpy as you seemed..." With her grin widening at Natsuki's growing embarrassment, Monika leaned forward and began to whisper into Natsuki's ear. "I'd say that you really enjoyed that hug~"

Her face turning bright red, from embarrassment, anger, or a mixture of both. Natsuki snatched her poem from Monika's hands and shoved her composition notebook back into her possession before storming off towards the closet.

"My, my~" Monika mused as she flipped her notebook back open to the page her poem rested upon.

...

Yuri's soft, pale palm rested upon the back of MC's large and rugged hand, the heat emanating from his body causing Yuri's fingers to quiver in delight.

"S-So... um..." Yuri meekly spoke, her voice barely above a whisper as she pulled her fingers inward to gently stroke the back of MC's hand. "W-Would you... um... like... would you l-like to..."

Sliding her thumb between MC's palm and the back of her leatherbound journal, Yuri began to tenderly draw circles in the center of his pleasantly rough hand. "Like to...

"S-See some m-more..." Yuri scooted a little bit closer to him, the definition of the muscles underneath his vest elicited a pleasant sensation as she felt them against her body. "O-Of my wr-writing...?"

Right as his lips began to part, two tiny hands slammed down onto his shoulders.

"Hi, guys!" Sayori greeted. "Wanna read each other's poems?!"

Jumping slightly at Sayori's sudden appearance, Yuri pulled her hand back from the gentle warmth of MC's palm and placed both of her hands on her lap.

Unfazed, MC simply tilted his head back to meet Sayori's blue eyed gaze.

"Hey, you." MC smiled, their eyes meeting between the curtain of Sayori's coral pink hair that enveloped both of their faces.

"Hi!" Sayori repeated, quickly taking one of her hands off of MC's shoulders and sliding her poem in between them, the paper now resting on MC's face.

Sitting back upright, MC moved his right arm off the back of Yuri's chair and caught the wrinkled sheet of loose leaf as it began to flutter down towards his lap.

"Is this your poem, Sayori?" He asked as he straightened out the piece of paper as best as he could.

"Yup!" Sayori happily answered, looping her arms around MC's neck and leaning against his back.

"Hey, what's that?" Sayori asked, pointing to the open journal that was resting on his right leg.

Moving so fast that the action was practically a blur, Yuri grabbed her journal and tightly held the repository for her written works against her chest.

"I-I'm go-going to... to..." Glancing around the classroom for somewhere to go, Yuri's attention flitted between Monika, who was peacefully looking through her composition notebook, and Natsuki, who was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and an annoyed expression on her face. "Sh-Share my p-poem with Monika..."

The moment after she came to her feet, Yuri politely bowed to both MC and Sayori. "E-Excuse me..." She mumbled, before hurriedly trotting off.

"How about a raincheck, Yuri?" MC proposed, causing Yuri to stop in her tracks. "I'd love to see more of your writing."

"You'd probably be able to teach me a thing or two." He added with a chuckle.

Slightly turning her head in his direction, Yuri offered a small nod in response.

"Awesome, I'll be looking forward to it." MC replied. "Let me know when you'd like to get together and share some more of your writing later, okay?"

Nodding once again, Yuri turned back towards Monika and started heading off in her direction.

As she walked, neither MC or Sayori could see it, but Yuri had the widest smile she'd ever had on her face.

...

"So..." Sayori giggled with a wide grin as she pushed herself off of MC's body and grabbed the chair Yuri had been sitting in, spinning it around so she could sit face to face with her friend and press him for all the juicy details she was interested in. "Did you just ask her out?"

"Wait, what?" MC asked as he tilted his head in confusion. "I wasn't asking her out, I was just asking her if she'd like to share her writing with me later."

"Really?" Sayori asked, surprise laced in her tone of voice.

"Yeah." MC confirmed. "She asked me if I'd like to see more of her writing, that's what the raincheck was about."

"Hmm..." Sayori moaned as she rubbed her chin in an over exaggerated manner. "I don't know, MC. I don't think you were too clear, maybe you sent her some mixed signals."

"I think I was pretty clear." MC replied.

"That's not good enough, you gotta be crystal clear, MC!" Sayori countered. "A lady's heart is a fragile thing, you shouldn't play with it."

"Where'd you get that from?" MC asked, staring back at Sayori with an incredulous look on his face.

"I saw it in a magazine." Sayori said, completely confident in herself.

"You mean that one I caught you reading last week and you started yelling at me when I asked you about it?" MC questioned.

"I DIDN'T YELL!" Sayori yelled. "I was just surprised to see you is all.

"Supri-" MC cut himself off. "You were in my house!"

"Yeah, but..." Sayori trailed off as she tried to find an excuse. "...You snuck up on me..."

"You shouldn't do that to a lady either." Sayori added.

Just staring at her in utter disbelief for a moment, MC eventually shook his head and started talking again. "Why were you reading a wedding magazine anyway?"

"Th-That's...!" Sayori loudly started. "I, um... I-I like looking at the dresses."

"You do?" MC tilted his head. "I never knew that."

"W-Well..." Sayori shyly mumbled. "I really, really like... romantic stuff..."

"Well if you like it that much we could stop by that wedding shop on our way home later today." MC offered. "I think it's only a street down from St. Gentleman's actually, so it wouldn't be too out of our way."

"I'd love to!" Sayori shouted, nearly jumping out of her chair in excitement before sitting back down and beginning to dig into her pockets. "But first we have to finish sharing poems, so bring yours out too, MC!"

"Sure, it's right here actu-" Before he could finish, Sayori grabbed the poem right off of his lap and started reading.

...

Eyes of Heaven

Like the light from a dead star

All that we strive for may be lost

But no matter what our dreams may be

Achieving them should be worth any cost

But just because something's time has passed

Does not mean it has lost its luster

We must continue to work towards becoming all that we can be

With every ounce of strength that we can muster

...

"..." Sayori silently stared at MC's poem, her near boundless energy now contained and her attention dedicated towards analyzing her friend's writing. "...Oh my goodness!"

"This is sooooo good, MC!" Sayori complimented with a massive smile on her face. "I love it~!"

"I had no idea you were such a good writer!" She beamed.

"You're just overreacting." MC said, in spite of the spreading smile on his face.

"You're too modest, MC." Sayori giggled. "But I really like that about you, it's an attra-" She cleared her throat in an effort to cut herself off. "Good quality!"

MC bobbed his head to the left in acceptance of what Sayori just said. "I suppose, but I wouldn't say I'm a good writer." He clarified. "I just kinda wrote down what came to mind, I honestly don't really have much of an idea as to what I'm doing."

"Well... Maybe that's why!" Sayori suggested. "Because I have no idea what I like, either!"

"Except for romance." MC commented.

"Ahahaha!" She laughed while nodding in agreement. "Yeah! Except for that!"

Getting back to their discussion on his poem, MC shrugged. "Are you sure you don't just like it simply because I wrote it?"

"Eh?" Sayori thought on that for a moment before a look of certainty graced her features. "Well, I'm sure that's part of it."

"I think I understand you better than just about anyone, you know?" She smiled, looking down at the poem between her fingers with a wistful expression.

"Absolutely." MC nodded. "I feel the same way about you."

Opening her mouth to reply, Sayori quickly closed it into a tiny smile. "Knowing that..." She began bobbing her shoulders back and forth slightly. "That makes me really happy..."

"But anyway... when I read your poem... It's not just a poem..." Sayori said, taking her eyes off of MC's poem and looking at the writer himself.

"It's a MC poem!" She yelled, the smile on her face somehow getting even bigger. "And that makes it feel extra special!

Sayori hugged the sheet of paper against her chest. "Like I can feel your feelings in it~"

"I'm so happy that you wrote one." Sayori mused. "It lets me know that you're really a part of the club now~"

"Of course." MC replied. "And y'know, I'm really glad that you asked me to join the club yesterday."

"Really?!" Gasping loudly and smiling brightly, Sayori placed her hands underneath the seat of her chair and jumped forwards towards MC, closing the gap of what little space existed between them and wrapping him up in a big hug. "That makes me so happy, MC!"

"I'm gonna make sure that you have lots of fun here, okay?" Placing her chin against his chest and staring up at him, Sayori was positively beaming. "That'll be my way of thanking you~"

"I'm already having tons of fun here, Sayori." MC assured. "So you don't have to worry about that, just make sure that you're happy and having fun too."

"MC, I think you're the least selfish person in the whole wide world." Sayori complimented, before placing both of her hands onto MC's massive pectoral muscles and pushing herself back into her own chair. "I think there's a word for that actually..."

"What do you mean?" MC asked.

"Like a specific word for someone that isn't selfish." Sayori replied.

Chuckling, MC shook his head. "No, I'm asking what you meant when you said I wasn't selfish, where'd that come from?"

"Oooooh~" Sayori sounded out, giggling in slight embarrassment.

"Well..." Sayori began, tapping her fingers together as she thought. "It's just that you're so willing to try new things for people, like the Literature Club or when we went hiking in Nikkō National Park a few years ago."

"And we got lost in the woods for a night after you ran off." MC mentioned.

"I thought I saw a tanuki..." Sayori excused.

"Or even when I talked you into going Trick-or-Treating one last time." She said with a hint of nostalgia in her voice that soon took on an air of guilt. "And even though it's my fault that your back is... well... the way it is. You still want to do stuff with me."

Placing his right arm onto his shoulder and looking at what little of his back that he could see as he stretched, an empathetic expression covered MC's face. "Of course I do, Sayori. I've always cherished our friendship more than just about anything."

"But-" Sayori called out.

"No buts." MC interrupted. "A few scars on my back could never change the way I feel about you."

"MC..." Feeling as if her heart skipped a beat, Sayori felt a newfound energy coming from her belly. "I'm gonna support you with everything that I've got!"

"And I'll do the same for you, Sayori." MC said. "I always will."

Tapping her feet on the ground as if she was about to take off running, Sayori shoved her hand into her pocket. "MC, after we're done here and with the wedding shop, I'm treating you to monjayaki!"

MC chuckled while Sayori continued to dig into her pocket. "As much as I appreciate that, you tried to trick me into buying you snacks earlier. So I'd probably end up treating you."

Ignoring him as she turned her pocket inside out, Sayori moved to the pocket on the left side of her blazer. "Where'd I put my poem...?"

The sound of paper rustling caught her attention and she looked over to MC, who was holding a wrinkled sheet of loose leaf in his hand. "You gave it to me earlier, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Sayori giggled awkwardly. "Ehehe~"

...

Dear Sunshine

The way you glow through my blinds in the morning

It makes me feel like you missed me.

Kissing my forehead to help me out of bed.

Making me rub the sleepy from my eyes.

Are you asking me to come out and play?

Are you trusting me to wish away a rainy day?

I look above. The sky is blue.

It's a secret, but I trust you too.

If it wasn't for you, I could sleep forever.

But I'm not mad.

I want breakfast.

...

Sayori had a massive smile on her face the entire time MC's auburn eyes were scanning each line of her poem, she could barely contain herself until she eventually saw his vision turn back up towards her.

Feeling unexpectedly bashful from being under his gaze after he had seen her most intimate thoughts put onto paper, Sayori looked down slightly to avoid making eye contact. "So what do you thi-" The moment her eyes met the back of the paper that was in MC's hands, she felt her jaw clench as her entire body began to break out into a cold sweat. "-nk..."

Whatever feedback MC was giving her, Sayori couldn't hear it. Her eyes were glued to the back of that paper, and the little doodle that was drawn on it. The small chibi style doodle of MC and herself holding hands inside of a big heart.

Maybe he wouldn't realize it was the two of them, Sayori thought to herself. Before realizing that she had written their initials over the two chibi drawings, with a plus sign between their names for good measure.

She had to keep him from seeing the back of that page, no matter what.

"Sayori?" MC gently called out, trying to get his friend's attention.

"Hmm?!" Sayori rapidly turned her head back up to look at him after hearing her name. "I-I-I'm glad you like it!"

"Well... I mean I do like it." Tilting his head in confusion, MC gazed down to the poem and then back up to Sayori. "But I was just saying how your poem sounds just like you."

"Oh!" Sayori shouted out. "Yeah, I mean... yeah! I guess it really does sound like me..."

"You know how much I, uh..." Racking her brain as she tried to remember exactly what she wrote, Sayori managed to recall the very last line of her poem. "How much I looooove breakfast, after all!"

"Are you okay, Sayori?" MC asked, concern obvious on his face.

"Who me?!" Sayori asked. "Yeah! I'm fine, everything's fine!"

"W-W-Why do you ask?" Sayori added.

"You're sweating." MC answered.

"H-Huh?!" Wiping her hand against her forehead, Sayori's palm was completely coated in the liquid. The cold sweat she was experiencing had now begun to soak through her hair and clothes.

"O-O-Oh, that!" Sayori blabbered out, wiping her hand onto her increasingly damp vest. "It's just, uh... just... really hot in here!"

"What?" MC, flatly replied. "It's not hot in here."

"Well that's... that's because..." Sayori began, trying her best to continue to make up excuses for her excessive sweating. "That's because you're only wearing your vest!"

"Here!" Taking her blazer off as she felt her sweat begin to seep into every thread of her clothing, Sayori continued talking. "If you put on my blazer you'll see what I mean, it's so hooooot!"

Tossing, or rather flinging, her blazer at MC. He reflexively brought his hands up to catch it and unintentionally let go of Sayori's poem, the piece of paper beginning to gently flutter toward the floor.

Not missing her chance, Sayori lunged for her poem and grabbed it before it even came close to hitting the ground.

"Your blazer barely fits you, Sayori." MC said as he took the article of clothing off of his head. "I probably couldn't even get my arm through the sleeve."

Glancing down to look at the poem that was now safely in her possession, Sayori felt another pang of panic when she noticed that her doodles were now facing towards MC.

Her eyes darting up to MC, Sayori saw that he was too busy wiping her sweat off of his face to notice her drawings. So in one swift motion, Sayori spun the paper around so the text faced MC.

"Yup!" Sayori agreed, still having barely heard a single word that he had said. "Next time I'm gonna write the best poem ever, it'll really knock your socks off! I guarantee it!"

"Alright, I'll be looking forward to it." MC replied.

"But could I show you what I specifically liked about your poem first?" He asked, holding his hand out so he could accept Sayori's poem back from her.

"Oh, we can do that later!" Sayori blurted out, glancing around the room until she managed to spot Natsuki, who had seemingly fallen asleep while she was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. "Natsuki's been waiting so patiently that she's fallen asleep! Why don't you go over and share poems with her so she can wake up to something pleasant?!"

Appearing to have accepted Sayori's logic, MC nodded in agreement. "Okay, I guess we can talk more about your poem when we're walking home later."

"You betcha!" Sayori concurred with a quick thumbs up. "I'll talk to you later, MC!"

"Talk to you later." MC politely nodded with a smile as he got up out of his chair and handed Sayori's blazer back to her.

Watching him walk away and kneel down nearby a napping Natsuki, Sayori looked back down to the poem she was holding tightly against her sweaty stomach. As she slowly released her iron grip from around the paper, she felt like she could finally breathe again.

Wiping the sweat from her brow once again as she stood up, Sayori started walking over to the garbage can as she carefully ripped around the drawing of MC and herself, making sure not to damage the text of her poem or the doodle she made.

But as she stood before the waste bin with the now separated drawing in her hand, she couldn't bring herself to throw it away.

Instead she trekked over to her school bag, opened up one of the latches, and slipped the shred of paper inside.


	17. Helping Hands

Natsuki felt at peace.

Shafts of delicious sunlight massaged her shoulders, the gentle heat from the sun covered her in a warmth that helped combat the piercing cold that was ever present in her tiny body.

Pulling her knees up closer to her chest, she felt her back press up against the wall, her head just a few centimeters shy from touching the bottom of the window pane.

Resting her head against her knees, Natsuki felt herself begin to drift off to sleep in the one place that she truly felt at ease.

Right as her breathing started to slow, Natsuki could feel the reverberations of heavy footsteps through the floor.

Feeling herself tense up more and more as the vibrations of the footfalls continued to get closer, Natsuki pulled her legs in even further towards the rest of her body and burrowed her face into her knees.

The numbing sensation of cold returned, the sun's rays unable to penetrate the chill Natsuki felt as she began to tremble.

But the moment she curled herself into a little ball, the footsteps stopped, waiting a few moments in hopes that whoever was before her would just turn around and leave her alone.

And to her disbelief, the person standing before her turned away and walked over to Natsuki's right.

Letting out a relieved sigh as she felt herself begin to stop shaking, Natsuki turned her head over to take a look at whoever had just been standing in front of her.

"Ugh." She quietly spat out, getting a glimpse of MC as he walked over towards the closet.

"That asshole..." Natsuki swore into her legs. "I bet he had fun scaring me."

"What's he even doing in there?" Her teeth ground together angrily. "He better not touch my manga."

Seeing that he was beginning to turn around, Natsuki hid her face back in her legs and waited for MC to pass by again.

Listening to his loud footsteps once more, Natsuki felt him stop in front of her again.

A rage began to build up within Natsuki, there was nothing she hated more than being looked down upon.

Releasing the grip she had around her legs, Natsuki started to silently work up the courage to stand up and punch MC, her hands forming fists so tight that her knuckles went white.

But right as she was wondering if she was even tall enough to be able to reach up and hit his chin, Natsuki felt something drape around her shoulders.

Opening her eyes and lifting her head up in one fast motion, Natsuki glared up at MC. "Hey! What do you think you're do-"

As she showed her teeth and pulled her arms up to attack him, the object he had laid over her fell off of Natsuki's small frame.

Turning her head to glare at whatever MC had put on top of her, Natsuki's irate expression froze at the sight of a fuzzy, gray blanket.

Staring back up at MC with a significantly less hostile expression, Natsuki felt confusion supplant her fury. "Why'd you...?"

"I'm sorry, Natsuki." MC apologized, a kind and empathetic smile on his face. "I thought you were asleep."

"I saw you shivering." Reaching down to the soft blanket that had fallen off of Natsuki, MC lifted it up and gently placed the cover back onto her right shoulder. "And I didn't want you to feel cold."

...

Monika's pen danced along the pages of her composition notebook. Each finished line punctuated by the sound of slowly approaching footsteps.

"I-I'm not in-interrupting..." Stopping short of the vacant chair in front of Monika's desk, Yuri placed her dainty fingers onto of the backrest of the seat. "A-Am I...?"

"Hmm?" Monika hummed out, as she recorded one final thought onto the page.

"Oh no, not at all, Yuri." Pressing her thumb onto the tiny heart atop her writing utensil to allow the ballpoint to slide back into the red plastic sleeve that it called home, Monika glanced up from her notebook. "I was just jotting down some ideas I had for the festival on Monday..."

Now that she was actually looking up at Yuri, a smile started tugging at Monika lips. "You seem very happy." She mused, brushing her coral brown ponytail back over her shoulder.

"Wh-What makes you..." Yuri began, bringing her leatherbound journal up to her face until the only part of Yuri's face that Monika could see were her meek purple eyes. "S-Say that...?"

Dropping her pen into the center of her notebook and closing it, Monika rested her chin on her palm. "Just a hunch."

Just staring at one another for a moment, Monika was the first to move as she offered Yuri both a pleasant smile and the seat across from her with a motion from her free hand.

Taking a step around the back of the chair so that she could accept the offered seat, Yuri bent her knees and began to lower herself down onto the chair. All the while, holding her journal firmly in its place in front of her face.

"So..." Monika breathed out, taking a glance over at MC, who was in the middle of a conversation with Natsuki. "What did you two lovebirds talk about~?"

"L-L-Lo..." Freezing on the spot, Yuri was about halfway between sitting down and standing back up. "L-Lov..."

What little of Yuri's face that Monika could see was now a bright vermillion, contrasted sharply by the purple of Yuri's hair and journal.

"I'm just teasing!" Monika quickly said, trying her best to avoid doing anything further that would upset Yuri. "I'm just teasing you. I didn't mean anything by it, Yuri."

"I-It's... It's o-okay..." Yuri replied as she plopped down onto her chair rather ungracefully. "U-Um..."

"C-Can... Can I-I..." Looking down at her shoes for a moment, and allowing some time to pass so that she could organize her thoughts. Yuri cautiously lowered the journal that was acting as a barrier between her blush and Monika's gaze. "A-Ask you... s-s-some... thing..."

"Of course, Yuri!" Monika replied, happy that Yuri didn't shutdown. "What's up?"

"H-How..." Continuing to lower her journal until it sat just below her bottom lip, Yuri closed her eyes as she worked up the nerve to ask her question. "H-How do you..."

"A-Ask a b-b-boy..." Yuri's voice lowered with each passing word to the point that Monika had to lean in to hear her. "O-Out... s-some... where...?"

Yuri's blush was so bright that it seemed to spread throughout her entire body, even the tips of her fingers appeared red.

Placing both of her elbows onto the table and interlacing her fingers together, Monika let out a confident giggle. "You came to the right lady, Yuri."

Resting her chin upon the backs of her interlocked hands, Monika stared at Yuri with unfettered confidence. "It's time for Monika's Crash Course on Romance!"

...

"I wasn't sleeping." Natsuki said, looking away from MC and towards the closet.

"Alright." MC replied.

"And I wasn't cold either!" She lied, glaring at him while wrapping herself up in the large blanket even further.

"Alright." MC repeated.

"Why'd you even come over here?" Natsuki asked, a little attitude in her voice.

"To share our poems together." MC said, pulling the piece of paper the poetry resided upon out of his back pocket.

"Hmph!" Natsuki turned her head away from him again and crossed her arms underneath the blanket.

"You crossed your arms just now." MC chuckled. "Didn't you?"

Quickly turning her attention back towards him, Natsuki wore a mixture of surprise and embarrassment on her face.

"NO!" She shouted. "I was... I was just pulling the blanket a little bit closer."

"I thought you said you weren't cold." MC pointed out.

"I-" Caught in a lie, Natsuki's face got redder out of frustration. "A-Are you gonna sit down for what?!"

"Thanks for the offer!" MC happily responded, sitting down a short distance to Natsuki's left.

"I didn't offer!" Natsuki clarified. "I was just asking, is all!"

"I see." MC nodded, an overly exaggerated expression of thoughtfulness on his face. "Still, I appreciate your concern."

"I wasn't-" Gritting her teeth, Natsuki turned her angry frown into a forced toothy smile. "Let's just share our poems, okay?"

"Sure!" MC agreed, a genuine smile on his face.

Holding his poem up in his right hand, MC turned a bit more in Natsuki's direction. "So would you like to trade and read them together, or-"

Digging her arm out from underneath her covers, Natsuki snatched the piece of paper out of MC's hand.

"No way, Mister!" She huffed out. "I'm reading yours first, then I'll let you know if I feel like sharing with you!"

Placing his now empty hand back on his lap, MC snickered faintly. "Did you just call me mister?"

"SHUT UP!" She yelled, holding his poem in between them so that she didn't have to see the smug look on his face.

...

"And that's why it's called a French kiss!" Monika stated, offering an energetic end to her lesson on romance with a wag of her finger.

"So, what do you think?" Monika asked. "With all that you should be able to..."

"Huh, Yuri?" Looking back at her student, Monika saw that Yuri was in a daze. The blush on her face was even more brilliantly colored than it was at the start of their conversation, it almost looked as if steam was coming off of Yuri's forehead. "Uh... You good?"

"Y-Y-Yes..." Shaking her head slightly to try and clear her mind, Yuri began fanning herself with her journal. "I-I... I'm... I'm o-okay..."

"Now that I think about it..." Seeming a little discouraged, Monika rested her head in her palm. "You didn't say all that much after I started talking about kissing."

"Sorry if I went a little too far right out of the gate." Monika apologized.

"N-No!" Yuri blurted out. "I-I'm s-sorry..."

"Y-You... You've b-been so k-kind to me..." Yuri stammered out. "H-Helping me... L-Like you have..."

"I-It's just that... j-just that..." Yuri held her journal against her stomach.

"I-I w-want him to l-look at me..." Yuri hid her mouth with the back of her right hand. "The... The s-same way I-I look at him..."

Taken aback by Yuri's complete sincerity, Monika puffed out her cheeks. "Geez, Yuri. You're too much of a proper lady."

"O-Oh, um..." While Yuri tried to think of a response, her train of thought was cut off by a giggle from Monika.

"But I really like that about you, and I'm sure MC likes that too." Monika smiled amiably. "To be honest, that sounds really wonderful, Yuri."

"Say..." Taking on a more mischievous expression, Monika leaned towards Yuri a little more. "I bet you've already got a place in mind for where you'd like to bring MC."

Placing her journal down onto her lap, Yuri slowly nodded in the affirmative. A squiggly smile growing larger and larger with each movement of her head.

"Alright, tell me all about it." Monika requested.

...

Eyes of Heaven

Like the light from a dead star

All that we strive for may be lost

But no matter what our dreams may be

Achieving them should be worth any cost

But just because something's time has passed

Does not mean it has lost its luster

We must continue to work towards becoming all that we can be

With every ounce of strength that we can muster

...

Natsuki rubbed her tongue against her left canine as she read the last line of MC's poem.

Tightening her lips out of frustration, Natsuki lowered the paper in order to begin her critique of its contents.

Having been waiting patiently, MC turned towards Natsuki and offered her a friendly smile. "What'd you think?"

"It's, um..." Pausing for the right word to describe her feelings, Natsuki tapped MC's poem with the back of her hand. "...Well, let's just start with the things that I don't like!"

"Alright, that's perfectly fair." MC nodded. "Please, go right ahead."

"First of all, um..." Clenching her teeth as she tried to think of something, Natsuki quickly read MC's poem again. "Um..."

Glancing between the author and his creation between each line, Natsuki shoved the piece of paper back into his hands. "N-Never mind."

Grabbing ahold of his poem, MC tilted his head at Natsuki with a puzzled look on his face.

"I don't feel like giving you my opinion." She added, pulling her arms back underneath the cozy blanket.

"Oh." MC breathed out. "Well it's okay if you don't want to."

Staring straight ahead, Natsuki ignored him.

"But I'd still love to read your poem, Natsuki." MC said.

"I don't feel like doing that either." Natsuki huffed out. "So you can just go talk poetry with someone else!"

"How come?" MC asked, disregarding the last part of her statement.

"What do you care?" Natsuki scoffed. "You're probably just hear to pick up chicks, anyway."

Before he could retort, Natsuki continued speaking dismissively. "Just go over and see Monika, I saw her slap your ass."

"I'm surprised she hasn't dragged you into the closet." Natsuki said, motioning towards the small room with her thumb.

"Or is Yuri more your type?" She asked. "She's been making goo goo eyes at you all day."

"Natsuki..." MC amicably began. "You shouldn't talk about your friends like that."

Letting out a laugh, Natsuki tucked herself deeper into her blanket. "They're not my friends."

"What about Sayori?" MC asked, placing his poem down on the floor beside him.

Natsuki didn't answer, she only looked straight ahead again.

"Well..." Sitting crossed legged as he turned his body to face Natsuki, MC clasped his hands together and leaned forward. "I'd like to be your friend."

"And why's that?!" Natsuki spat out, her voice filled with venom. "What makes me so special to deserve that?!

"I do think you're special, Natsuki." MC said. "I believe that everyone's special."

Natsuki leaned back as she let out a loud groan. "Oh God, you're one of those people."

Paying no attention to her comment, MC poised a question to her. "Natsuki, what do you think it means to be special?"

"If everybody's special, then what does it matter?!" Natsuki countered.

"That's a fair question." MC nodded. "Everyone is able to be special because each and every one of us is special in our own unique way."

MC then pointed over towards the other end of the classroom.

Following his index finger, Natsuki laid her eyes on Sayori.

"Did you know that Sayori can make pretty much every string figure that there is?" MC asked, laying his hand back down on his leg. "She even taught me how to play cat's cradle."

"Yeah, so what?" Natsuki dismissed. "So she's good with her hands, I bet you appreciate that."

"My point..." MC began, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "Is that everyone has something about themselves, no matter how big or small, that makes them a unique individual."

"Take your cupcakes for example." MC said, pointing at Natsuki this time. "Not many people can bake pastries of that high a quality, especially not from scratch."

Furrowing her brow, Natsuki turned her head to MC and looked him over. "What's with you?!"

Waiting for her to elaborate, MC didn't answer.

"I diss your girlfriend and then you go ahead and compliment me." Natsuki probed. "What the hell is that all about?!"

"I give credit where credit is due." MC replied. "You're an extremely talented baker, Natsuki."

"So are you just gonna ignore the first part of that?" Natsuki asked, a subtle sneer on her face.

"Oh, I'll get to that." MC returned with a grin.

"I just wanted you to know that it's important to find whatever greatness lies within you, and that you should nurture it." MC finished.

"As for the first part of your comment." MC said as he changed gears. "Sayori and I aren't dating, we're just friends."

"Wait... seriously?" Natsuki asked, disbelief filling her voice. "But the way you two act together..."

"We get that a lot." MC clarified, gazing over at Sayori. "We've just been part of each other's lives for a very long time."

"How long?" Natsuki asked.

"I don't have a single memory that she's not a part of." MC replied.

Letting out a wistful and content sigh, MC looked back at Natsuki after a brief moment of silence. "My point is that friendship isn't just some passive state of being between people, it's kind of like a living thing."

"What do you mean?" Natsuki questioned, her prickly tone of voice now gone and replaced with genuine curiosity."

"I mean that it's not so much what we have in this life that matters." MC explained. "It's what we do with what we have."

"The alphabet is fine, but it's what we do with it that matters most." MC elaborated. "Making words like 'friend' and 'love', that's what really matters."

Natsuki stared at MC for awhile before looking down at the blanket she was so warmly wrapped up in.

"I..." Holding herself tightly, Natsuki felt as if she was going to unravel. "I just... I just felt like I'd have been more comfortable sharing my poem if yours was really bad."

Surprised by her openness, MC sat and listened to her.

"I was hoping that you'd show me a poem that'd make me go, 'Hah, well it's not that great, but let me show you what real literature looks like.' But..." Natsuki let out a weak chuckle as she began to look disappointed in herself.

"But I really liked it..." She admitted. "I don't know why I couldn't just say that..."

"I guess..." Her voice became shaky. "I guess... I just didn't wanna get shown up by the new guy..."

"You know what I mean?" Natsuki asked as she turned towards MC, mist in her eyes.

"I do." MC replied, an empathetic smile on his face.

Natsuki returned his smile, and while it was not as big or happy as MC's, it was a smile nonetheless.

Opening her blanket a little, Natsuki held out a folded piece of paper towards MC. "Do you still wanna read my poem?"

Reaching out and graciously accepting her written work, MC opened it to the world. "I'd love to, Natsuki."

...

"Wow~" Monika mused. "An art symposium, that'd be a very fun first date."

"Y-You..." Yuri stammered out. "Th-Think so?"

"I do." Monika replied, before looking off to the side. "Well..."

"W-Well...?" Yuri repeated in the form of a question. "Wh-What is it?"

"Oh, nothing..." Monika said, folding her hands on the desk. "I mean, I think it sounds nice. But it's just that I don't know if MC's into that kinda thing."

"O-Oh..." Now that she thought about it, Yuri wasn't very sure either. "Th-That's true..."

Yuri stared down at her hands, a despondent expression on her face.

"Hey, don't feel discouraged." Monika said in an attempt to cheer Yuri up. "I think I have an idea that could help."

"R-Really...?" Yuri breathed out, tilting her head up towards Monika slightly.

"Yeah, I thought the hospital you said you got the tickets from sounded familiar." Monika explained. "And it reminded me of something."

Right as Yuri was about to ask another question, Monika looked over her shoulder and placed a hand to the side of her mouth. "Hey, Sayori!"

Startled by Monika's sudden shout, Yuri sat ramrod straight in her seat.

"Sayori was telling us about this really nice thing MC did at that same hospital." Monika explained to Yuri as Sayori trotted over.

"Hey, guys!" Sayori happily greeted. "What's up?!"

"Hi, Sayori." Monika cheerfully replied, followed by a motion towards Yuri with an empty hand. "Yuri didn't get to hear the story you told Natsuki and me about MC."

Clapping her hands together in a pleading manner, Monika widened her smile. "Could you tell her the story, pretty please?"

Gasping happily, Sayori grabbed ahold of the nearest chair, pulled it up to her other two clubmates, and sat down brimming with excitement. "You bet!"

...

Eagles Can Fly

Monkeys can climb

Crickets can leap

Horses can race

Owls can seek

Cheetahs can run

Eagles can fly

People can try

But that's about it

...

Natsuki watched MC's eyes as the auburn colored orbs passed by every short line of her poem.

As he took his eyes off of the piece of paper and placed them onto Natsuki, she felt a sensation of suspense overtake all her other emotions.

"So..." Natsuki felt something strange in her stomach when she looked into MC's eyes. "What'd ya... What'd ya think?"

"I really like it." MC stated matter-of-factly.

"Really?!" Natsuki squealed.

"Wait..." She began as she reeled in her reaction. "What did you like about it?"

"Be specific!" She interrupted before MC could even speak.

"Well I liked the rhyming." He replied.

"Mmhmm!" Natsuki nodded. "I liked the rhymes in yours too!"

"And..." MC took on a more solemn expression. "I can really understand that feeling of trying to do something, but being unable to succeed no matter how hard you strive towards your goal."

"Ah, well..." MC said in a hushed tone, a sad smile on his lips.

"What...?" MC turned to give Natsuki his attention, the warmth returning to his features. "Did you expect that I wouldn't like it?"

Natsuki looked down at her poem. "...Yeah..."

"Well..." Shaking her head, she stared back up at him. "Not exactly."

"I just thought you were gonna say it was cute." She shrugged. "Like Sayori and Monika did."

"People don't take me-" Natsuki cut herself off. "My poems seriously."

"Everyone in high school thinks that writing has to be all sophisticated and stuff..." She said, crossing her arms under her blanket again.

"The way you write doesn't make your message any less valid." MC responded. "Poems, and all art, is about how you express yourself."

"Exactly!" She hopped up. "You get me-" Natsuki cut herself off again. "You get it, MC!"

"I like it when a message is clear and easy to read, but still hits you hard." Natsuki explained.

"Seeing everyone around you do great things can be really disheartening..." Natsuki placed her index finger onto the paper in MC's hand. "So I decided to write about it."

"I can understand that." MC agreed. "But you can't let other people's achievements let you feel down."

"I know..." Natsuki nodded.

"But the other nice thing about simple writing is that it puts more weight on the wordplay." She continued. "Like I set up for a rhyme at the end, but then made it fall flat on purpose. That way itt helps bring out the feeling in the last line."

"Wow..." MC thoughtfully hummed out, picking his own poem off the floor and holding it next to Natsuki's. "I'm really impressed with how much you put into your writing, Natsuki. I'm really glad that you decided to share with me."

"Well...!" Natsuki felt that strange sensation in her stomach again. "That's what it means to be a pro!"

"I'm glad that you learned something." She added as she turned her head away from MC's face and towards the closet.

Her gaze now affixed on the closet's interior, Natsuki's eyes opened wider with excitement.

"There it is!" She gasped.

"Where's what?" MC questioned, staring into the closet as well.

Turning back to look up at him, Natsuki had a big smile on her face. "My missing manga!"

"I saw that a volume was missing from its box when I came over here after talking to Monika." Natsuki explained. "But now I see it!"

"Want me to get it for you?" MC offered.

"Would you?!" Natsuki asked, deep and genuine appreciation gracing her features. "It's on the third shelf from the top."

"Got it." MC replied.

Watching MC raise himself up off the floor in one swift motion, Natsuki marveled at just how tall he was from where she was sitting.

As he walked over to the closet, Natsuki looked between the blanket and the man that had given it to her.

"Hey, MC..." Natsuki called out.

Waiting for him to turn back to face her, Natsuki cleared her throat. "Thanks for being so nice to me... even though I was kind of a bitch to you."

"So, I'm sorry about that... all of it..." She finished.

"There's a quote that I try to live my life by." MC uttered as he turned his right arm over to gaze at his burn scar. "The noblest art is that of making others happy."

Natsuki couldn't help but giggle a little. "God, you're so sappy."

"Who said that, Gandhi?" Natsuki snorted in amusement. "No, no. Let me change my answer, was it Jesus?"

"Neither of them, actually." MC replied, turning back to the closet.

"Then who?" Natsuki asked.

As he crossed the threshold into the small storage room, MC looked over his shoulder. "P.T. Barnum."


	18. Poem Panic!

"And then..." Unable to contain her sheer glee as she recounted her story to a second audience, Sayori let out a childlike giggle.

"C'mon, Sayori~" Monika prodded. "You were just getting to the best part."

Yuri sat dumbstruck in between the other two girls, facing near information overload from everything she was being told.

Sayori's hands quickly shot up to each side of her mouth in order to help cover a gasp, only to then be clenched into tight fists.

"That's right!" Sayori agreed, jiggling in her seat with overflowing energy. "And then when I asked MC how he knew sign language, he said..."

Hopping up to her feet in a single motion, Sayori's seat slid back a short distance as she cleared her throat and leaned back.

Jumping in surprise at Sayori's movement, Yuri brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face while Monika continued to watch the spectacle before her.

Placing her hands onto her back and pushing her stomach out in an attempt to look chubby, Sayori made her voice sound as deep as possible. "Santa can speak the language of every good little boy and girl around the world!"

Standing still in her Santa pose for a moment, Sayori let out a hearty laugh before landing back into her chair and scooting closer to the table that the three girls were sharing.

"Isn't that super cool, Yuri?!" Sayori asked, leaning over to the girl she had posed the question to.

"O-Oh! Um..." Surprised by the sudden inquiry and Sayori's proximity, Yuri lifted her journal up off of her lap and used the leatherbound object as a barrier between herself and the plucky girl speaking to her. "I-I suppose..."

Before she could elaborate, Sayori's eyes sparkled with excitement as her right hand shot up and pointed directly at Yuri.

"That journal is so pretty, Yuri!" Sayori complimented, admiring the object's intricate design work. "Is your poem in there?"

"...Y-Yeah..." Yuri confirmed, holding her journal a little closer to her chest. "A-All of my... wr-writing is..."

"Can we see?" Sayori asked, her eyes full of innocent wonder. "I bet your poem is really good!"

"Um..." Watching as Sayori scooted right next to her with a happy smile on her face, Yuri looked over to Monika, who offered her a reassuring nod before beginning to come over as well.

Swallowing her nerves, Yuri managed a small smile as well. "O-Okay..."

"Oh!" Sayori suddenly called out, making a face like she had just remembered something important. "I shouldn't get too close to you. I'm all sweaty, after all."

"I-It's alri-" But before Yuri could dismiss Sayori's concerns, the sweaty and bubbly girl shot back up from her seat.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom!" She declared to the entire room, before happily trotting over to the clubroom door and exiting into the hall.

Watching Sayori close the door behind her, Yuri turned back to Monika who was once again resting her chin on the back of her interlaced fingers.

"So, Yuri~" Monika hummed out, a mischievous little grin on her face. "We could share poems while we wait for Sayori to get back, or..."

"O-Or...?" Yuri repeated.

"We could talk about MC a bit more~" Monika offered. "Since you know a little more about him now, I thought you'd like that."

Yuri's blush returned to her cheeks, the flush color bringing vibrant hues to her normally pale skin.

"But it's up to you." Monika said, watching as Yuri began to lift her journal up to her chin again, seemingly intent on disappearing behind the object. "I'm not gonna pressure you into saying or doing anything you're uncomfortable with."

"Y-You..." Yuri held her journal below her bottom lip. "You k-kind of sound l-like MC..."

Pleasantly smiling at Yuri's remark, Monika waited patiently for her to continue speaking.

"D-Do..." Placing her journal back down onto her lap, Yuri exhaled as she tried to overcome her apprehension. "Do you k-know if he..."

"I-If he..." Yuri's hands moved over to her hair, locks of the purple thread interweaving between her fingers. "L-Likes girls... th-that wear g-glasses...?"

...

"P.T. Barnum?" Natsuki repeated, confusion evident in her voice. "Who's that?"

Crossing the doorframe of the closet to once again step into the clubroom, MC brushed his fingers against the pink pastel spine of the formerly lost manga. "He was an author, a politician, a businessman..."

"Many called him the greatest showman on Earth." MC continued, as he walked over to Natsuki.

Stopping as he reached the small girl's side, MC gently sat down in the spot he had vacated only moments ago. "But above all, he was a person. Dedicated towards bringing joy to all those around him."

"Just like Sayori." MC mused, gazing contentedly over to her as she loudly made her declaration that she was going to the washroom.

"And quite a bit like you as well." MC remarked as he turned back to face Natsuki, offering her a polite smile along with his words.

Poking a hand out from under the fuzzy, gray blanket that enveloped her small frame, Natsuki accepted her book with an incredulous expression. "Really, you think I'm like that?"

"Well..." MC shrugged. "I didn't see anyone else making cupcakes for everyone in the Literature Club."

"That was..." Natsuki jostled her manga around in her hand. "That was just because... Sayori asked me to..."

"Yeah, she can be very persuasive when it comes to sweets." MC chuckled, smiling at the thought of the scenario that must have played out when Sayori requested the cupcakes.

"But in any case, that doesn't change the fact that it was a very nice gesture." MC continued, resting his hands down on his knees. "You're quite the talented baker, Natsuki. Have you been doing it for very long?"

"No..." Shuffling underneath her blanket, Natsuki avoided making eye contact with MC. "Not really..."

"Did your manga inspire you to start baking?" MC asked, pointing to the volume in Natsuki's hand for good measure.

"No!" Natsuki shouted, pulling the book underneath the covers with her. "I'm not that impressionable, what do I look like some sort of kid to you?!"

"Not at all." MC replied, unfazed by Natsuki snapping at him. "I just assumed that with a name like Parfait Girls, the manga may have made you want to try baking."

"You can't judge a book by it's cover, MC!" Natsuki interrupted. "It's not just about baking... there's also, um..."

Pulling her manga back out from under the blanket, Natsuki quickly flipped through the first volume from cover to cover.

Closing the book with an audible clap of her hands, Natsuki tapped her fingers against the manga's cover as she stared off into the distance with a displeased look on her face.

"Just read the damn thing yourself." Natsuki grumbled as she dangled the manga out towards MC with her left hand.

Accepting the book back from her, MC took a better look at the cover.

A girl with a massive smile, and some sort of pink icing on her cheek, held out a silver platter towards the reader that was filled to the brim with a wide selection of cute looking pastries.

Scanning over all of the different baked goods set on the platter, MC placed his finger onto one of them and held the manga closer to Natsuki so that she could more easily see the cover. "I really like this one."

"Which o-" Natsuki began, before immediately cutting herself off and regretting that she'd ever asked MC to get her manga out of the closet.

"O-Oh, really?!" Natsuki asked, wanting to just disappear into her blanket. "Why's... Why's that?!"

"I dunno..." MC smiled, gazing at the vanilla cupcake decorated to look like a happy little cat. "There's just something familiar about it that I like."

...

"Do you normally wear glasses, Yuri?" Monika asked, tilting her head to the side as if to search for a memory. "I don't think I've ever seen you with them on."

"N-No..." Yuri answered. "I-I don't u-usually wear them..."

"How come?" Monika questioned further. "Do you only need them to see the chalkboard or something?"

"N-No..." Yuri repeated. "Th-They're..."

Yuri paused for a moment, looking up at Monika before staring down at the desk in between them.

"Th-They're..." Tensing up as if she was expecting a scolding, Yuri's voice lowered to barely above a whisper. "R-Reading glasses..."

Gasping loudly and furrowing her brow, Monika seemed more than ready to deliver a scolding. "Yuri!"

"P-Please..." Yuri whimpered. "D-Don't be m-mad at me..."

"I'm not mad, Yuri." Monika clarified, a slight hint of exasperation in her voice. "I'm concerned, it's not good to strain your eyes like that."

"I-I know..." Yuri muttered. "I-I'm sorry, M-Monika..."

"You don't need to apologize, Yuri." Monika replied. "I'm sure you have a good reason as to why you don't want to wear your glasses."

Sitting silently, Yuri only nodded her head in agreement.

A lull finding itself in their conversation, Monika placed both of her hands onto the desk, one on top of the other.

"But no matter what your reason may be..." Monika said, filling the silence between the two girls. "I bet MC would really like your glasses."

"You could mention them the next time you two talk." Monika continued. "In fact, why don't you go over and speak to him as soon as he finishes talking to Natsuki?"

Shuffling in her seat as she mulled over what Monika had just said, Yuri placed her hands onto the desk as well. "O-Okay..."

...

Water pooled between Sayori's cupped hands. The warm, clear liquid sent a refreshing feeling throughout her entire body as she splashed it against her face, the sticky sweat rolling off of her cheeks and flowing down the drain.

Twisting the sink's handles, the fluid ceased its flow and Sayori allowed the remaining moisture on her hands to travel down the length of her fingers, coalescing at their tips before falling onto the ceramic below.

As Sayori raised her head, tiny beads of water trickled down the contours of her face and dangled from the ends of her coral pink hair.

Examining her reflection, Sayori lifted her right hand up. Her limp shoulders not moving a centimeter as she pressed her palm against her cheek.

Cradling her naked cheek, free from the mask that hides who she is. Sayori stared into the depths of the mirror, a pair of blank, blue eyes gazing back at her.

...

"Have you ever tried making this one before?" MC asked, pointing to a layered dessert in one of the manga's panels.

"Which one?" Natsuki replied, attempting to lean over to better see where MC was pointing.

"This one." MC said as he tapped the illustration of the rectangular pastry. "I actually think I've seen these before."

"Hold it closer." Natsuki requested as she continued to lean further and further. "I can't-"

Losing her center of gravity and unable to bring her arms out from under the blanket fast enough to impede her fall, Natsuki fell onto MC's lap, her head gently landing on his right thigh.

"Oh." MC called out, closing the manga and setting it down on the floor to his left. "Are you okay, Natsuki?"

Any thought in Natsuki's head was completely frozen as she turned her face up towards MC, her right eye widely staring up at him as her left remained closed.

"Natsuki..." MC began, placing his hand onto her right shoulder. The fabric of the blanket between his palm and her clothed body. "Are you alright?"

The back of her head resting upon his thigh like a muscular pillow as she gazed up at him, Natsuki raised her chin and turned back away from MC.

"D-Don't put my manga on the floor!" She grumbled. "It'll get dirty..."

Taking in what she said without a word, MC lifted her copy of Parfait Girls back up off of the floor.

As he brushed the back cover off, Natsuki peaked up at him. "It's your fault for holding the manga so far away."

"I didn't say anything." MC replied, placing the volume down on his left leg.

"Well..." Natsuki began, puffing her cheeks out a bit. "Good."

Locking eyes, Natsuki's expression grew more and more agitated the longer she laid there.

Wiggling around like a little caterpillar as she found herself still stuck in her blanket, Natsuki's jaw tightened. "So are you gonna help me up, or what?"

"Y'know, the way you're laying there reminds me of how my Mom used to read bedtime stories to me." MC said, folding his hands down on his lap with a wistful smile spreading across his lips.

"Wha-" Natsuki sounded out, turning her head to look back up at MC with her one open eye. "What's that got to do with anything?!"

"She also sang me the same lullaby every single night before telling me how much she loves me." MC continued, ignoring Natsuki's question. "Would you like to hear it?"

Letting out an exasperated breath, Natsuki shrugged her shoulders. "Fine..."

His smile getting just a little bit bigger, MC gave a friendly nod to Natsuki before clearing his throat.

"A canary sings, a cradle song." Adopting a silvery tone of voice, MC began to sing. "Sleep, sleep, sleep, child!"

"Above the cradle, the loquat fruits sway." In a sweeping motion, MC brushed his hand through imaginary tree branches. "Sleep, sleep, sleep, child!"

"A squirrel rocks the cradle by its rope." Gently grasping Natsuki's left shoulder once again, MC placed his right hand against the light girl's back and lifted her up from the floor in one quick move. "Sleep, sleep, sleep, child!"

"Dreams in a cradle, with the yellow moon shining down." Returning Natsuki's small frame back to the position it had occupied before she fell, MC let go of her and placed his hands back onto his lap as he finished the final verse of his song. "Sleep, sleep, sleep, child!"

Freeing herself from the fuzzy, gray blanket and allowing the large piece of fabric to flow down onto the floor, Natsuki crossed her arms in a huff. "Don't you think it's weird for a guy like you to be singing lullabies to people?"

Thinking for a moment, but quickly shrugging his shoulders, MC shook his head in the negative. "No, not really."

Taken aback by his near immediate response, Natsuki unfolded her arms and looked him over. "You're not even going to ask me what I mean by that?"

"No." MC replied. "But would you like to tell me what you mean?"

"Well, I mean..." Natsuki held her entire hand out as she motioned towards different parts of MC's musculature, before jabbing her index finger into his large bicep. "Just look at yourself, you're practically one big muscle!"

"You should be in the Boxing Club, not the Literature Club." Natsuki said, while MC watched how animated she was getting.

"I don't think the school has a boxing club." MC responded.

"You know what I mean!" Natsuki shouted back.

"If you've never had an interest in literature before yesterday, and you're not here to pick up chicks." Natsuki continued, her finger pointing accusingly towards MC. "Then why are you here?"

"Because I promised my friend." MC calmly replied, not a hint of frustration or malice in his voice.

"Plus..." MC began as he mulled over his words. "We're all multifaceted individuals. Just because we like one thing doesn't mean we can't also like something completely different."

Natsuki's pointed finger slowly went limp, her outstretched arm falling down onto her lap.

"...Mille-feuille..." She mumbled, bringing her arm up to her face and rubbing her left eye with the back of her hand.

"That's the name of the dessert you asked me about." Natsuki clarified, blinking several times as she looked at MC with both eyes. "A lot of places just call them Napoleons though."

"Oh!" MC called out, Natsuki's explanation helping him realize something. "That's what they call them over at St. Gentleman's."

"What's St. Gentleman's?" Natsuki asked. "Is that a bakery?"

"Yes, it is." MC confirmed. "Sayori and I walk by it everyday on our way to sch-"

Cutting himself off, MC lifted Natsuki's manga off of his leg and held it out towards her. "That reminds me, I have something I'd like to show you."

"What is it?" Natsuki asked, her hands remaining on her lap.

"I promised Mother, I wouldn't tell." MC answered

A confused grimace appeared on Natsuki's face. "...What?"

"It's a surprise." MC clarified as he jostled the manga in his hands a bit, calling for Natsuki to accept it.

"You could've just said that." Natsuki complained as she held her hand out.

Placing the manga down onto Natsuki's palm, she put it down on her lap as she watched MC rise to his feet.

"I suppose I could have." MC mused to the small girl staring up at him. "But regardless, I know you'll really like what I have to show you."

"I better." Natsuki grumbled, watching MC as he walked over to the desk he had placed his school bag on. Her eyes lingering on his broad shoulders before she turned her eyes away in a huff.

...

As she listened to Yuri speak, Monika's attention was drawn over her conversation partner's shoulder and towards their newest club member.

"Oh, Yuri~" Monika hummed out.

"Y-Yes?!" Yuri replied, her train of thought interrupted. "Wh-What is it...?"

Lifting up her arm and silently pointing over Yuri's shoulder, Monika directed her attention to MC as he walked across the room.

"O-Oh..." Yuri muttered, quietly watching as MC's large, bare arms swayed with each step that he took.

"I-I don't think th-that I can-" Turning back to look at Monika, Yuri felt a reassuring hand fall onto her shoulder.

"It's okay, Yuri." Monika cooed. "This is exactly what we talked about."

"Just go over there and talk to him." Patting her shoulder once before placing her hand back on the desk, Monika gave her an encouraging smile. "C'mon, you can do this."

Turning her head around to gaze back at MC, Yuri swallowed the lump in her throat and rose to her feet.

Standing there with her journal in her hands, Yuri's grip tightened around the leather binding as she took her first step towards MC.

...

Opening his school bag and beginning the search for his promised surprise for Natsuki, MC heard approaching footsteps coming from behind him.

Listening to the footfalls for a moment before resuming the exploration through his bag, MC felt a delicate finger poke him lightly on his left shoulder.

Retrieving a piece of paper from his bag as he felt the finger continue to poke him, MC turned clockwise towards the person trying to get his attention.

With her arm stretched out and her index finger extended, Sayori appeared both surprised and disappointed.

"Aww!" She cried out. "You were supposed to turn the other way!"

"I know." MC replied, looking over the piece of paper in his hands. "You always try to poke my cheek when I turn around."

...

Yuri stopped dead in her tracks, watching as Sayori started to playfully punch MC's abs.

Unsure of how to proceed, Yuri looked back towards Monika, who continued to wave her on despite Sayori's presence.

Her attention back on her original destination, Yuri's eyes flitted between MC and Sayori, trying to find an opening in their conversation so she could attempt to interject.

As she watched the two old friends interact, Yuri felt a strange feeling within her chest.

An ever so faint sensation of longing. A desire to be as close to MC as Sayori is, if not closer.

Staring at them for a few moments more, Yuri started to turn back towards Monika. But as she did, Yuri felt a little ashamed of herself.

After Monika had listened to her for so long and offered her so much kind advice, Yuri felt that she couldn't just slink back to her without having spoken to MC.

Stopping mid-turn, Yuri's eyes fell upon Natsuki. Her fellow clubmate sat with her back against the wall as she flipped through the pages of a small book.

Glancing down at the journal in her hands, Yuri once again swallowed her nerves and took a step towards her new destination.

...

"You're no fun, MC." Sayori whined as she continued to jab at his stomach.

"I'm the most fun person on God's green earth." MC countered as he flipped the paper over to examine it's back.

"Oh, hey!" Sayori called out, ceasing her barrage as her attention shifted. "That's the flyer that cashier from St. Gentleman's gave you!"

"Are you thinking about calling her, MC?" Sayori asked in a teasing manner as she slid up to his side, leaning against his large frame. "Y'know, I could give you a lot of advice for getting to a lady's heart."

"You're all the company I could ever need, Sayori." MC replied as he removed a pen from his bag and scribbled over the phone number.

"Ehehe~" Sayori giggled to herself as she held her cheeks, perfectly content after what she'd just heard.

...

"Maybe I should make some of these next time..." Natsuki said to herself, gazing at a basket of checkerboard cookies inside of her manga.

As she made a mental note of the page that the treats resided on, Natsuki looked up to see Yuri approaching her.

Stopping the moment Natsuki laid her eyes upon her, Yuri brought her journal up to her chest.

"What d'you want?" Natsuki rudely asked.

"U-Um..." Yuri pointed down towards the sheet of paper sitting to Natsuki's right. "W-Would you... l-like to-"

"Yeah, sure." Natsuki replied, deciphering what Yuri was getting to as she shoved her manga into her blazer's pocket, grabbed her poem, and hopped to her feet.

"Is it in there?" Natsuki asked, pointing to Yuri's journal as she held her poem out for Yuri to accept.

"O-Oh, yes!" Unclasping her journal's latch and quickly flipping through a dozen pages at a time, Yuri came to the place she was searching for and traded the leatherbound book for Natsuki's sheet of paper.

...

"Oh!" Sayori gasped, still holding her face. "Are you gonna ask Natsuki to team up with you for that cooking tournament?!"

"Well we got to talking about cooking and baking a little bit." MC explained, dropping his pen back into his bag.

"And that reminded me about the flyer." He said, holding up the object in question. "So I thought I may as well give it to her so she can think about it."

"I bet you two would totally win!" Sayori cheered, taking her hands off of her face and wrapping them around MC's muscular arm. "Everything you make is always so delicious!"

Leaning down to Sayori's ear, MC glanced around before beginning to whisper. "Well that's because I make everything with love."

Letting out a goofy little laugh, Sayori nuzzled her face into MC's arm, rubbing her soft cheek against his rugged muscles.

"Hey..." MC said, placing his large hand on top of Sayori's head and ruffling her already messy hair. "Is your hair wet?"

Ceasing her nuzzling, Sayori let go of MC and brought her hands up to the ends of her hair. "Oh, I forgot to dry my hair..."

"Ehehe..." She awkwardly laughed.

...

Silently reading over one another's poems, Yuri's head rose first after quickly scanning over Natsuki's writing.

"I-It's very..." Yuri paused for a moment, thinking of the right word as she held Natsuki's poem back out for her to accept. "...C-Cute."

Only about halfway through reading Yuri's poem, Natsuki's head slowly tilted up towards the taller girl.

"Excuse me?" Natsuki said through gritted teeth, tossing Yuri's journal off to the side haphazardly.

The leatherbound object sent loud reverberations through the room as it made contact with the top of a desk.

"H-Hey!" Yuri gasped, taking a step over to the desk and inspecting her journal for any damage. "N-Natsuki th-that was-"

"What? Did you not get the symbolism or something?" Natsuki asked, ignoring Yuri's protests. "How can something all about the feeling of giving up be cute?!"

"U-Um, I-I mean..." Stammering under the pressure of Natsuki's glare, Yuri felt her hands begin to sweat as she delicately placed Natsuki's poem down onto the desk. "I-I was... I was..."

"You were what?!" Natsuki shouted, causing Yuri to take a small step back. "Because it sounds to me like you completely missed the point of my poem!"

"I-I was j-just t-t-trying to... to..." Feeling the rest of her body begin to break out into a cold sweat, Yuri managed to force out the rest of her sentence. "S-Say something n-nice..."

"Eh?" Natsuki sounded out, taking a step towards Yuri. "Is that all you've got to say?!"

"W-Well I... I-I do h-have some..." Yuri mumbled out, feeling as if she was choking on her own words. "H-Have some s-suggestions..."

"You can take your suggestions and stuff 'em!" Natsuki crudely replied. "If I wanted suggestions, I'd get them from someone that can actually appreciate my writing."

"Which everyone besides you did, by the way." Natsuki added with a sneer. "How about you, did you even bother showing anyone this edgy mess?"

...

"Here, let me help." MC said, turning to face Sayori and waving her closer.

"Okay." Sayori agreed, taking a step closer to the already nearby MC. "But what are you gonna-"

Sayori was cut off as a surprised gasp escaped her lips, MC brought his left hand up and gently rubbed a lock of her coral pink hair in between his fingers.

"You're not too wet." MC remarked, small streams of liquid running down his fingers and onto the back of his hand.

"You..." Feeling as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest, Sayori's light blue eyes glanced over to her left. "You should feel this side... it's a lot more wet..."

Quiet for a moment, MC smiled as Sayori snuck a peek up at him.

"Sure." He agreed, bringing his right hand up in the same way he did his left, but rather than rub Sayori's hair in between his fingers, he gently cupped her cheek.

"Nope." He said, the warmth of her body permeating throughout his rugged palm. "This side feels just as wet as the other."

Her face growing warmer and warmer, Sayori gazed up at MC as he brushed her hair behind her left ear.

...

"E-Edgy?!" Yuri repeated, offended to her core.

"Yes." Natsuki confirmed with a nod as she crossed her arms. "Edgy."

"In fact, I think I'll give you some suggestions on how to fix your writing." Natsuki stated matter-of-factly. "First things first-"

"H-How can you..." Yuri looked over to her journal on top of the nearby desk and then back at Natsuki. "H-How can you s-say that when you d-didn't even f-finish reading it?!"

Caught red handed, Natsuki blanked for a moment. "Well... that's because-"

"A-And I showed MC my p-poem, h-he really liked it." Yuri continued, cutting Natsuki off.

"H-He even..." Growing a little quieter, Yuri smiled to herself as she held her hands against her chest. "S-Said it was in-incredible..."

Staring at Yuri for a moment, Natsuki grinned to herself as she thought of a new line of attack. "Oh? So you've been trying to impress MC this entire time, huh?"

Her eyes shooting open, Yuri felt her hands begin to go clammy again. "N-No! I... I..."

Watching as the moisture coalesced on her palms, Yuri felt something begin to rise from within her chest.

"Y-You..." Clenching her hands into fists, small droplets of sweat leapt from her palms as Yuri leveled a glare at Natsuki. "Y-You're just an... j-just an... an..."

"An antagonizer!" Yuri yelled, her eyes closing as her fists remained at her sides.

...

"I'm really happy that you're here." Sayori said, gazing up into MC's eyes.

"And I'm happy to be here." MC replied, gazing back.

"Hey, MC..." Sayori began, bringing her hand up and resting her palm against the back of his hand. "Would you like to-"

A sudden burst of laughter reverberated throughout the room, drawing everyone's attention towards Yuri and Natsuki.

"St-Stop laughing!" Yuri demanded, her fists beginning to shake with anger. "Th-This is ex-exactly what I was t-talking about!"

"An antagonizer!" Natsuki shrieked with laughter. "That's so old fashioned!"

"You should've just called me a shrew!" Natsuki added, holding her stomach as she continued to howl with glee.

As the two girls continued to bicker, MC looked away from the argument and down to his friend.

"Hey, Sayori." MC calmly said, placing his index finger and thumb onto her chin to gently turn her attention back towards him. "Could you go and talk to Monika for me?"

"Monika?" Sayori questioned, her eyes beginning to drift back towards Yuri and Natsuki as they continued to grow louder. "But what about them?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, Sayori." MC said as he slid his hand down from Sayori's chin and onto her shoulder, offering the worried girl a reassuring squeeze. "I haven't let you down yet, have I?"

Tilting her head to the left so that her cheek rested upon the back of MC's hand, Sayori looked him over from head to toe.

"No..." She quietly mused before an expression of sudden realization appeared on her face, her head leaning back upright. "Well there was this one time you washed my bow with my-"

"Pink is a very beautiful color, Sayori." MC interrupted as he gave Sayori's shoulder one last friendly pat before beginning to walk over towards Yuri and Natsuki.

"It looks especially good on you." He called out, looking back at his friend.

Her own cheeks going pink as she watched MC approach the fight, Sayori held her face once again, and smiled.

...

"Y-You're just..." Yuri began, her brow furrowing as she leveled a glare at Natsuki.

"I'm what?" Natsuki asked, baring her teeth. "C'mon, let's hear it!"

"Y-You're just j-jealous that MC didn't s-say your poem was in-incredible!" Yuri shouted out.

Letting what Yuri said sink in for a moment, Natsuki scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "I couldn't care less what he thinks about anything I make."

"But if you must know..." Natsuki continued, puffing her chest out proudly. "He said he really liked it."

"And he specifically mentioned how much he liked my rhyme scheme." Natsuki grinned, directing her thumb towards herself. "Did MC even say what he particularly liked about yours?"

"Y-You..." Yuri stammered out, her hands shaking with fury.

"Hello, ladies." MC pleasantly greeted, surprising both girls with his sudden appearance and drawing their attention from one another. "What's going on?"

Processing MC's abrupt arrival, both girls were silent for a moment as they thought of what to say.

"A-All..." Working up her courage, Yuri took a step towards MC while she pointed an accusatory finger at Natsuki. "All I t-tried to do was s-say something n-nice to her!"

"Nuh-uh!" Natsuki shot back, pointing towards Yuri in retaliation. "She called my poem cute!"

Looking at Natsuki with his hands folded behind his back, MC patiently waited for her to elaborate.

"And that..." As she held eye contact with MC, Natsuki began to feel that it was becoming harder to remain angry. "And that, um..."

Turning away from him and facing Yuri, Natsuki placed her hands on her hips. "Yuri just needs to get over herself!"

"If she'd just admit that simple writing is better than the convoluted mess she made, none of this would've happened." Natsuki added.

"A-A mess?!" Yuri repeated, offended again.

"Yeah!" Natsuki confirmed. "The reader should be able to understand the poem's meaning immediately, you shouldn't leave half the work to them and make them spend time trying to figure it out."

"A poem's meaning should jump out at the reader." Crossing her arms as she finished her diatribe, Natsuki looked back to MC. "Isn't that right, MC? Your poem had a rhyme scheme too, after all."

"Well?" Staring up at MC, Natsuki began to impatiently tap her foot. "Aren't you going to say something?"

Smiling, MC held his left hand out towards Yuri. "I think it's only fair that Yuri gets to speak before I say anything."

"But you just did!" Natsuki shouted, tapping her foot one final time with a loud stomp.

Ignoring her outburst, MC continued to look at Yuri.

Yuri held her hands over her chest, the sensation of her racing heart drummed through her fingertips.

"It's okay, Yuri." MC reassured with a gentle tone of voice. "Take as much time as you want to speak your mind."

"I-I..." Rubbing the back of her right hand with her left pinky, Yuri cleared her throat. "I-I just th-think that..."

"Th-That I..." As she gazed up at MC, all the frustration that Yuri felt was supplanted by a lightness in her heart. "Th-That I'm only able to e-express how I f-feel with certain words..."

"A-And th-these were the w-words that..." Folding her hands in front of her waist, Yuri stared forward into MC's chest. "Sp-spoke to m-me the most..."

"Thank you, Yuri." Offering her a polite nod, MC turned towards Natsuki and offered her the same kind gesture. "And thank you too, Natsuki."

...

Watching as MC attempted to diffuse the situation between Natsuki and Yuri, Monika flipped her notebook closed after jotting down one final thought as she began to stand up.

"Monika~" Sayori happily sang out, trotting over to the Club President as she held both of her cheeks. "What's up?"

Looking at the joyful girl before her as she hovered halfway between sitting back down and standing to go and back up MC, Monika returned Sayori's exuberance with a small half smile.

"Not much here, but..." Leaning to her right to look past Sayori, Monika stood upright. "I should really go and help MC."

"Hmm?" Sayori hummed out, twisting her body around to take a quick look at MC's progress with the Club's other two members.

"Oh, he'll be okay!" Sayori loudly reassured, turning back around to face Monika. "He's great at these sorts of things."

"Really?" Monika asked, taking another look at MC. "But he's barely even known either of them for a day. I should really..."

"It's fine!" Sayori soothed, plopping down in the seat across from Monika. "MC actually sent me over here so they could have some privacy while they all talked."

"Don't worry, Monika!" Sayori continued with a big smile. "MC can handle anything!"

Glancing between Sayori and the trio across the classroom, Monika eventually sighed and sat back down. "Alright... But if I hear another shout I'm going over there!"

Her smile widening even more, Sayori sat confidently across from Monika. Completely certain in her best friend's abilities.

...

Crossing her arms in a huff, Natsuki looked away from MC. "Alright, you've heard from both of us. Let's hear what you've got to say."

"Certainly." MC replied, placing his hand into his pant's pocket.

"Y'know, this is the first time I've ever written something for myself." He mused, taking his poem out of his pocket and unfolding the piece of paper. "It wasn't for a class or anything like that, it was just for me."

Appearing as if she wanted to say something, MC got ahead of Natsuki's possible comment. "Now I know it was so that we could all share our poems with one another, but..."

Pausing as he skimmed over the lines of his poem, MC smiled as he looked back up at Yuri and Natsuki.

"But I'm not very good at it." MC admitted, causing Yuri to turn her head up towards him, appearing as if she wanted to say something now as well.

"But that doesn't matter." MC continued, tapping his poem with the back of his hand. "It's just the fun of doing it that's important."

"And how fulfilled you feel after completing a job well done." He remarked, looking between the two girls before him once again. "Just like your cupcakes, Natsuki."

A little flustered from the sudden praise, Natsuki grumbled quietly and turned away from MC.

"Or your victory in our chess match, Yuri." MC complimented, resulting in a squiggly little smile spreading across Yuri's lips.

"The same goes for your poems, I genuinely enjoyed both of them." He said, pointing towards the desk both pieces of writing sat upon.

"You both created something wonderful; and no matter what anyone says, they can't take what you've made or your feeling of accomplishment away from you." Looking down at his poem one more time before returning it back into his pocket, MC offered Yuri and Natsuki a kind smile. "It feels good to have made something."

...

"I can't believe it..." Monika breathed out, astonished by the sight before her. "He actually got them to stop fighting."

"See?" Sayori boasted. "I told you, Monika. MC is the best!"

Giggling a little at Sayori's energetic complement of her friend, Monika rested her head against her palm. "Yeah, I guess he is."

...

Taking in everything that MC had said, Yuri and Natsuki stood before him silently.

Staring down at her hands, Yuri rummaged through her mind for something to say. "I-I..."

"I'm gonna take a walk." Natsuki blurted out.

"H-Huh?!" Yuri exclaimed. "B-But..."

"Certainly, Natsuki." MC said, stepping to the side out of Natsuki's way as she walked towards the classroom door.

As MC returned to his position in front of her, Yuri watched as Natsuki slowly opened, stepped through, and closed the door behind herself. Catching a quick glimpse of Natsuki's downcast expression before the door slid completely shut.

"Y'know..." Hearing MC begin to speak, Yuri turned her attention back towards him.

"Whenever I'm upset or feeling blue, I like to think about all the people that have helped me get to where I am today." He remarked, a wistful expression on his face. "Some of them are far away..."

"Some of them are in this very room..." He continued, looking over to Sayori while she spoke to Monika.

Pausing as he smiled sadly, MC gazed out at the fluffy white clouds outside the classroom window. "Some are even in Heaven..."

"But no matter where they may be, or how many of them there are..." Focusing his attention back onto Yuri, MC's smile became more pleasant. "Every single one of us has special people in our lives that have helped love us into being."

Taking her eyes off of him for the first time since he had started speaking, Yuri looked down at her feet, a dejected feeling filling her heart.

"I know it can be hard to think of our loved ones at certain times." MC said, seemingly sensing Yuri's feelings.

Glancing up at him through her bangs, Yuri stared back down towards the floor as she began rubbing her fingers together.

"Would you like to take some time to think about the people that have helped you become who you are?" MC asked.

Considering his offer, Yuri shifted her hands away from one another and placed the palm of her left hand against her right forearm.

"Those who have cared about you and wanted what was best for you in life." MC continued, placing his own hand onto the burn scar on his right arm. "Let's just take a few moments to think about and appreciate them, would you like to do that with me?"

Her eyes going misty, Yuri slowly nodded her head.

"I'll watch the time then." MC offered.

Closing her eyes, Yuri saw nothing but darkness at first. But as the ticking of the classroom clock continued to pass second by second, Yuri saw three figures in her mind's eye.

The thought of her Mother, teaching her how to read when she was little.

Her cat, Mr. Midnight, keeping her company for as long as she can remember.

And the very man before her now, who she shared secrets with that no one else besides her knew.

Allowing another few seconds to pass, Yuri tilted her head back up and opened her eyes to see MC gazing back at her.

"Whoever you thought about just now, I hope you know how happy they must be to know the difference you feel they've made in your life." Pausing for a moment, MC's smile grew just ever so brighter. "And if they don't, please take the time to tell them how much you love and appreciate them."

Interlacing her fingers together and holding them above her chest, Yuri continued to stare into MC's eyes.

Peering into one another's eyes, MC's attention was caught by Sayori and Monika in his peripheral vision, the two girls having been watching both Yuri and himself for the past few minutes.

Chuckling softly as they quickly turned away from him, MC looked back at Yuri. "Would you like them to keep you company while I go talk to Natsuki?"

Parting her lips, Yuri swiftly closed them once again, simply nodding to MC instead.

"I'll be back soon." MC said with a polite nod, turning towards the door to go and search for Natsuki.

Watching him walk towards the door, the outline of his back muscles visible underneath the fabric of his vest, Yuri's hands tightly gripped the cloth above her chest.

"MC!" Yuri called out, causing him to turn around as he was about halfway between her and the classroom door.

Her heart feeling as light as a feather dancing on an afternoon breeze, Yuri lowered her head and brought her right hand up to her mouth, her index finger barely a centimeter from her lips.

"Th-Thank you..." Her left hand tightly gripping the bottom of her blue skirt, Yuri peeked up at MC. "For encouraging me..."

"You're welcome, Yuri." MC replied, accepting her heartfelt thanks. "You deserve encouraging."

...

"That stupid guy." Natsuki grumpled to herself, angrily stomping on the gray floor tiles beneath her feet.

"What does he know?" She asked aloud as she turned a corner.

"I don't know a lot about anything..." She heard a voice begin to say as she entered a new hallway. "But I know a little about practically everything."

"Ugh..." Natsuki groaned, laying her eyes on MC.

Sitting on one of the many benches spread throughout the empty corridor, MC patted the vacant space beside him. "Would you care to join me?"

"Not on your life." Natsuki spat out, turning away from him in a huff as she continued to walk down the hall.

"Okay, I'll see you later then." MC replied.

Stopping a short distance away from him, Natsuki turned back around to look at MC. "You mean you're not gonna follow me and give me some sort of talk on the importance of friendship?"

"No." MC shook his head, an unconvinced Natsuki staring back at him.

"I just came out here to get a better look at the clouds." MC explained, pointing out towards the window.

"That one kind of looks like a cotton ball." He remarked. "Don't you think so?"

Barely moving her head to look at the clouds, Natsuki crossed her arms.

"They all look like cotton balls." She replied, unamused.

"I suppose so." MC acquiesced.

Sitting silently as he continued to watch the clouds, Natsuki began to glare at MC.

"If you just want to sit there and cloud watch, I'm leaving." Natsuki declared, giving him an ultimatum.

"Alright, I'll be right here if you need me." MC replied with a friendly nod.

Taking a step further down the hallway, Natsuki continued to face him as she shuffled along. "I'm going!"

"Sure thing." MC said, waving goodbye.

"I'm really leaving!" Natsuki yelled, turning around and taking some more steps down the hall.

"Please let Sayori know where I am if you see her." MC requested.

"Okay..." Natsuki agreed, stomping as hard as she could so MC could hear her leaving. "Bye..."

"See you later." MC called out, resuming his cloud watching as Natsuki disappeared around another corner.

...

Firmly holding onto the thin red string of her uniform's ribbon, Yuri turned away from the clubroom door and towards an approaching Sayori.

"Hi, Yuri..." The friendly girl quietly spoke out. "Are you okay...?"

Looking down at her hands for a brief moment, Yuri lifted her head back up and nodded.

"That's good." Sayori said, tapping her fingers together as she thought of what to say next.

"Um, Monika and I were..." Clearing her throat, Sayori motioned over her shoulder with her thumb, directing Yuri's attention towards Monika.

"Monika and I were actually just talking about... I dunno..." She trailed off briefly. "Just girl stuff, I guess."

"Would you like to join us?" Sayori asked, taking a step in Monika's direction.

Looking past Sayori, Yuri saw the welcoming smile of Monika as she waved her over.

"O-Okay..." Yuri agreed, beginning to follow after Sayori.

"Oh!" She suddenly called out, halting in her tracks.

"I-I'll just be a m-moment!" Yuri said as she turned around and trotted over to a nearby desk.

Stopping at the desk, Yuri picked her journal back up, inspecting it once again for any damage from Natsuki's tossing.

Content that no harm had come to the one place she could speak freely, Yuri was halfway turned around before looking back at the only other object on the desk.

Lifting up the white piece of previously folded paper, Yuri read over Natsuki's poem once again.

Quietly pondering over the lines on the page, Yuri placed the poem inside of her journal, and briskly walked back to join Sayori and Monika.

...

"What is with you?!" Natsuki yelled, rounding the corner once again as she chastised MC.

Looking over to the irate girl approaching him, turning his head in the opposite direction to gaze down the hall, and then staring back at Natsuki. MC couldn't help but let out a tiny chuckle.

"Did you just run around the entire floor?" He asked, an amused grin on his face.

"Shut up!" Natsuki barked, breathing heavily from her sprint through the halls. "I asked you a question!"

"You're a curious one, you know that?" MC remarked, his smile widening as he crossed his legs and leaned back against the wall behind him.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Natsuki snarled, placing her clenched fists on her hips. "You... You..."

"I meant it as a compliment." He interjected, placing his cupped hands onto his lap. "A curiosity is someone who you'd like to know more about."

Crossing her arms in a huff, Natsuki put on an overexaggerated frown.

"You're trying not to smile, aren't you?" MC asked, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward.

"No..." Natsuki grumbled as she swayed back and forth a little. "I'm just... shut up, you."

"Who?" MC asked, placing an offended hand on his chest. "Me?"

"Yes, you." Natsuki replied, puffing her cheeks out.

Smiling as he saw the edge of her lips curl up, MC patted the unoccupied spot beside him once more. "Sit with me, won't you?"

...

"Alright, so if you're gonna wear lipstick you'll want to get a liner that's a shade darker than your lips." Monika stated, puckering her lips a little. "So that you make kind of a kissy face."

Taking a mental, and in Yuri's case a literal, note of everything Monika had been telling them, both Sayori and Yuri paid undivided attention to everything being said.

"W-Wait..." Yuri meekly said as she finished writing down the information about lipstick and kissy faces. "What's l-liner...?"

"Oh, right!" Monika clapped, reaching over to her school bag. "I should explain what everything is."

Placing her bag onto her lap, Monika opened it up and produced a small pen like object from within. "This is lip liner."

"It helps make your lipstick last longer, you can mix and match shades too, or just use a nude liner if you prefer." Monika explained. "You can put it on before or after your lipstick or gloss, and it'll keep the color from bleeding or feathering."

"It's absolutely necessary if you're gonna wear a dark shade." Monika explained as she uncapped the lip liner, passing it to Sayori for inspection. "Actually, I think dark lipstick would look wonderful on you, Yuri!"

"H-Huh...?!" Yuri quickly looked up, the pen she was taking notes with nearly falling out of her grasp. "R-Really...?"

"Totally!" Monika energetically answered. "Your hair and skin tone would go perfectly with a dark shade of purple, or even black!"

"I-I see..." Yuri blushed, placing a finger against her bottom lip. "I-I've never actually w-worn lipstick..."

"Me neither." Sayori chimed in while looking over the lip liner, she had a serious and studious expression on her face as she turned it in her hands. "It's kinda like a colored pencil!"

Looking at the object, Monika giggled. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Oh!" Monika clapped again. "If you don't wanna wear lipstick, or just want to start off with something simpler, there's always gloss!"

"G-Gloss...?" Yuri questioned.

"I've worn that!" Sayori said. "She's talking about lip gloss!"

"Yup, that's exactly right, Sayori." Monika commended. "It's more subtle than lipstick, but it offers a really great shine for your lips."

"It's a good balance when you're wearing eye makeup too." Monika added. "Plus, some brands even help hydrate your lips!"

"Say, Monika. Do you work at the makeup counter at the mall?" Sayori asked as she passed the lip liner to Yuri.

"Nope, but I guess I could." Monika giggled. "Couldn't I?"

...

"Now you don't seem all that shaken up, so I won't force you to talk about it." MC began, facing Natsuki as they sat and spoke to one another. "But there's just one thing I'd like to say about your argument with Yuri."

"Oh, here it comes." She groaned, placing her elbow against the wall and resting her head against her open palm. "Is this gonna be your big friendship speech?"

Bobbing his head back and forth in thought, MC shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess."

Letting out another groan, Natsuki motioned for MC to begin. "Alright, let's hear it."

Chuckling at her candor, MC interlaced his fingers together and placed them onto his lap.

"Now if you tell Sayori this, I'm going to deny it." MC said, looking over his shoulder before turning back to Natsuki. "But when we were younger we used to fight every now and then too.

"Really?" Natsuki asked, her disbelief clear on her face. "But you two seem so... lovey dovey."

Smiling at her phrasing of their friendship, MC continued. "Now we still have the occasional spat every now and then, but it's never really about anything too important."

"But when we were kids, hoo boy..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "It was... It was something."

"But anyway..." He said with a wave of his hand, as if swatting away any bad memories. "We became a lot friendlier around the time we became teenagers."

"Huh?" Natsuki sounded out. "Why would becoming teenagers matter?"

"Life experience, maybe?" MC replied, not completely sure himself. "Ah, well. The why of it all hardly matters now."

A nostalgic look on his face as he gazed out at the clouds, MC patted his right leg.

"My point is that getting to be friends with someone..." Extending a finger, MC drew an invisible line in between Natsuki and himself. "Creating a true friendship with a person, is a lot like building a bridge."

"A lot of people think that being friends with someone just involves a lot of fun and happy times." Placing his hand onto his knee, MC patted the joint gently. "But that's not true, not at all."

"Friends often go through difficult times, sometimes because of one another..." MC said as he held up his right arm, showing Natsuki his burn scar.

"But more times than not, we help each other get through those tough times together." Resting his arm back on his leg, MC's smile shined brightly.

"And our friendships..." Lifting his left arm up, MC placed a finger against his chest. "And our hearts are stronger for it."

Allowing every word to wash over her like the waves of the ocean as she lay on the sandy beach, Natsuki crossed her arms and furrowed her brow.

"Now like I said, I'm not going to force you or anyone else into doing anything they don't want to do." MC clarified. "But I think it would be very nice if you talked to Yuri, even just a little bit, once we go back into the clubroom."

Still quiet as a church mouse, Natsuki only furrowed her brow further. Closing her eyes for good measure.

"How does that sound?" He asked.

Remaining silent, Natsuki opened her eyes and look up at MC.

"So you and Sayori aren't dating, right?" She asked, applying great emphasis on the aren't.

Blinking slowly as he processed the question, MC noticed that Natsuki had scooted a few centimeters closer to him.

"That's correct." He answered. "Do you have any other questions?"

"Nope!" Natsuki replied, hoping to her feet and pointing down the hall. "We can go back to the clubroom now."

Watching her walk down the hall and sneak a few glances at him to see if he was following after her, MC patted his leg and stood up.

"Alright then." He said to himself with a laugh as both he and Natsuki made their way back to the other members of the Literature Club.

...

"And the baker says..." Sayori giggled, trying and failing to hold her laughter until she finished her joke. "You mean the guy that ran off with your wife?"

"And then... And then the florist says..." Sayori continued, barely able to speak clearly at this point. "Yeah, why? Did it already make the papers?!"

Howling at the punchline of her own joke, Sayori began to loudly slap the top of the desk she shared with both Yuri and Monika.

Letting out laughter of their own, though in a far more reserved manner, Yuri covered her mouth as she giggled gently.

Her amusement more evident, Monika joined in Sayori's smacking of the table.

As the girl's enjoyed one another's company, the clubroom door slid open.

"Aww, don't tell me we missed one of Sayori's jokes." MC said over the three girl's laugher as Natsuki tried to look past his large frame to see what all the commotion was about.

Their laughter slowly fading, Sayori immediately lit up at the sight of her best friend.

"MC!" She happily yelled.

Seeing Natsuki pop out from behind him once they both entered the room, Sayori beamed towards her as well. "Natsuki, you're both back!"

Clasping her hands together, Sayori merrily wiggled in her seat. "I'm so happy that everything's okay!"

Leaning over to her as she continued to jiggle, Monika began to whisper. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Sayori. There's still one very important thing that needs to be done."

"Huh?" Ceasing her shimmying, worry came to Sayori's face. "What do you mean, Monika? What's wrong?"

Rising from her seat without a word, Monika walked over to MC.

Standing in front of him, Monika tapped her finger against her chin as she looked him over.

"Wh-What's going on?" Yuri whispered to Sayori.

"I don't know." She quietly replied. "Monika said that something important that had to be-"

In that moment, Monika's hands shot out and grabbed ahold of MC's cheeks.

Their eyes nearly bugging out of their heads, Sayori and Yuri sat in shock.

"Monika!" Leaping out of her chair, Sayori nearly covered her eyes out of fear of what would happen next. "What are you-"

"Woah!" Monika breathed out as she massaged MC's face. "You were right, Sayori!"

"Huh?!" Sayori blubbered out. "Right about what?"

"His face!" Monika replied as she continued to rub his cheeks. "It really is silky smooth."

Standing there while his face proceed to be kneaded like dough, MC looked over at Sayori.

"You were talking about my face?" MC asked, clearly amused.

"Oh, cool!" Monika called out. "I could feel your face muscles move when you smiled!"

"No!" Sayori said, answering MC's question and nervously looking away from him. "I mean, it did come up but..."

Before MC could say anything back to her, Monika's hands moved down from his face.

Gasping happily as Sayori let out another yelp, Monika slid her fingers all around MC's neck.

"Wow~" She giggled. "It's so thick~"

"Hey, Natsuki." Monika called out, getting the small girl's attention. "You gotta give him a feel too!"

"I'm good." Natsuki replied, having been standing there stone faced the entire time that Monika had been getting handsy.

"What about you, Yuri?" Monika asked, looking back at the only person in the room who was still sitting down.

"I-I!" She muttered out, going red faced at the suggestion.

"Ahh!" Shaking her hands and stomping her feet, Sayori ran over to Monika's side and began lighting hitting her back.

"Alright, alright." Monika giggled, Sayori's gentle strikes still jabbing into her. "I'll stop, I'm sorry~"

...

"Hey." A voice greeted from Yuri's side, causing her to nearly jump out of her seat in surprise.

"Oh, I guess you were distracted..." Natsuki remarked, briefly looking over to Sayori pouting at Monika in front of MC. "...by that."

"Anyway..." Natsuki continued, turning back to Yuri. "The reason I came over here is... because..."

Gritting her teeth, Natsuki struggled to retain eye contact with Yuri.

"It's not your fault..." Natsuki said, grabbing ahold of her left elbow and turning her head away from Yuri. "And it's not mine either, but... I'm sorry."

Staring up at Natsuki, who was barely taller than she was even while she was seated, Yuri gazed down at her journal and then back at Natsuki.

"I-I read a book..." Yuri began, causing Natsuki to peer at her through her peripheral vision. "A-A long time ago..."

"O-One of the ch-characters... m-my favorite from the b-book..." She added as Natsuki turned to face her a bit more.

"He s-said that..." Yuri paused for a moment as she recalled the quote. "Y-You never really u-understand a person until you c-consider things from their p-point of view."

Letting the words rest for a moment, the two girls sat in silence.

"I-I'm sorry that I d-devalued your poem by c-calling it cute..." Yuri said, to Natsuki's utter surprise. "I-I honestly didn't th-think too much of your poem a-at first.

"B-But..." Removing a piece of paper that she had placed into her journal earlier, Yuri held it out for Natsuki to accept. "Y-Your words have j-just as much value as mine."

Now fully facing Yuri, Natsuki let go of her elbow and reached out to accept her poem back from her.

Looking at her words on the parchment between her fingers, Natsuki folded it up again and place it into her pocket, sliding it behind the manga that still sat in her blazer.

"Do you think that..." Natsuki said, fiddling with the exterior lining of her pocket. "Maybe I... could read the rest of your poem? I didn't get to finish it earlier..."

Astonished by the request, Yuri gazed down at her journal.

Placing her hand on top of its purple leather, Yuri slowly nodded.

"O-Okay..." She replied, once more opening the repository for her most intimate thoughts.

...

"Hello again, ladies." MC greeted, having escaped from Sayori and Monika.

"Hey." Natsuki replied, still focused on reading the remainder of Yuri's poem.

"H-Hello!" Yuri called out, both surprised and elated by MC's presence.

"Hey, be careful." Natsuki said as Yuri nearly dropped the side of the journal she was holding.

"O-Oh!" Yuri called out, quickly grabbing a firmer hold on her journal. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Stop apologizing." Natsuki said, pointing at Yuri with her free hand. "You don't need to say you're sorry over every little thing."

"O-Oh!" Yuri repeated. "I'm sor-"

"Bup!" Natsuki interrupted, moving her extended finger out a little further towards her.

Clamping her lips shut, Yuri refrained from apologizing again and Natsuki went back to reading.

Silently observing the two girls, MC smiled as Natsuki finally finished going over Yuri's poem from top to bottom.

Staring at Natsuki with big, bright eyes as she awaited feedback, Yuri was completely silent.

"Well..." Natsuki scratched the back of her head. "I think something like this would work better as a short story."

"But I don't think it's necessarily bad per say." She quickly added after seeing a despondent look on Yuri's face.

"You don't need to dance around a compliment, Natsuki." MC interjected, drawing a glare from her.

"Alright, fine!" She acquiesced, crossing her arms and looking back at Yuri. "It's good, it's not one-hundred percent my thing, but it's good."

Lighting up from the praise, Yuri shuffled in her seat happily. "Th-Thank you, Natsuki..."

"I-I feel the s-same way..." Yuri added, closing her journal as Natsuki released her grip on the other half. "A-About your poem..."

Chuckling softly to himself, both girls looked up to MC.

"What's so funny?!" Natsuki shot out.

"It's nothing." MC explained. "I was just thinking how wonderful it is that a good story, or in this case two good poems, can help bring people together."

"I suppose that's what storytellers do, after all." MC continued, despite Yuri and Natsuki's slight embarrassment. "They restore order with imagination. They instill hope again and again and again."

"Okay, everyone!" Monika called out as she was being affectionately squeezed by Sayori, who now appeared to have completely forgiven Monika for the rubbing of her best friend. "It's getting pretty late, so I think we should all finish up for today."

"O-Oh!" Yuri exclaimed as she looked at the clock. "I-I need to p-prepare dinner!"

Standing up swiftly, Yuri offered Natsuki a polite bow before turning towards MC.

Taking several steps closer to him, Yuri lifted her journal up to her mouth. "Th-Thank you, MC... f-for everything..."

"You're welcome, Yuri." MC replied with a warm smile. "It was my honor."

Stepping in place skittishly, Yuri tightly gripped her journal with her left hand.

Extending her arm up to MC's face, she ran her fingers against his cheek.

"I-It is smooth... a-and silky..." She whispered, gazing up at MC's now widening smile before running off to gather her belongings.

Watching her trot off, MC's attention was quickly drawn by Natsuki.

"That thing you said." Natsuki began, standing up as well. "Did P.T. Barnum say that too...?"

"No." He replied, walking beside Natsuki as they went to go and gather their belongings as well. "That was Walt Disney."

...

"Hey, MC." Natsuki said as they were packing up and returning everything in the room to where it belonged.

"Yes?" He answered, placing the last chair behind its proper desk.

"What'd you... What'd you think of my manga?" She asked, closing her school bag up.

"Didn't I overhear you say that you couldn't care less about what I thought?" MC teased, leaning against a desk.

"Th-That was just for stuff that I make!" Natsuki shouted back.

Chuckling at her clarification, MC stood back upright. "I thought it was very nice, I like that it included recipes for everything the characters made."

"Really?!" She energetically replied. "I like that part to!"

Looking at MC's smiling face, Natsuki suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"I mean, I don't..." Gripping the sides of her school bag, Natsuki felt like lifting it up to her face to hide how she was feeling. "I don't get my recipes from there, I-"

"Natsuki." MC called out, drawing her attention.

"Yeah?" Natsuki responded, taking her eyes off of her bag and looking up at MC. "What is it?"

"There's nothing embarrassing about the things that inspire us." He stated.

Those words reverberating throughout her entire being, Natsuki placed her hand into her pocket and rested it against the cover of her manga. "How come you've been so nice to me?

"Y'know..." He began, looking over to Yuri as Sayori was hopping up and down in front of her. "Yuri actually asked me that earlier."

"Okay..." Natsuki responded, removing her hand from her pocket. "Well what'd you say?"

"Because it's nice to be nice." He stated matter-of-factly, looking back at Natsuki.

Confused by his logic, Natsuki pressed further. "I mean, I get that. But we're practically strangers."

"True." MC replied, bringing his hand up to his chin and resting it in his open palm.

Smiling as he let go of his chin and allowed his arms to relax at his sides, MC had that same look of longing in his eyes as he did when he gazed out at the clouds.

"But my Mom always told me to be kind to strangers." He mused. "After all, they could very well be angels in disguise."

...

"We can all walk out together!" Sayori eagerly said, skipping beside MC.

As they all began to shuffle towards the classroom door, Monika held her index finger out to the side.

"I hope you all enjoyed sharing poems with one another." She pleasantly said, before a small look of disappointment graced her features. "I'm just a little sad that I didn't get to see everyone's poem."

"Aw, that's okay, Monika." Sayori joyfully declared. "There's always tomorrow!"

"That's right." Natsuki concurred with a nod.

"Y-Yeah..." Yuri stated as well.

Reassured by the words of her friends, Monika's smile returned to its full luster.

"Okie dokie, then!" Monika contentedly agreed as everyone stepped out into the hallway. "I guess you're right!"

"What do you think, MC?" She asked, her light brown ponytail whipping around as she turned her head towards MC.

"I'm sure we'll all be able to accomplish even more tomorrow." He replied.

"After all..." MC continued, placing his hand onto the classroom door and gently closing the entranceway to the Literature Club. "Tomorrow is another day."

~o~O~o~

Author's Note

It is with great pride that I can declare that Auburn Eyes is finally finished! Now I know some of you are going to be disappointed by this, but fret not. Auburn Eyes will continue in a new form.

I plan to self-publish Auburn Eyes digitally through Amazon. The logistics for physical copies is still being figured out, but let's focus on finishing the book first.

Now that this chapter is out, I will be revising Auburn Eyes into its own original story. And while some character details will change, the souls of Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki, Monika, and especially MC, will live on in new forms. I'll also be going over the earlier chapters and polishing them all up a bit, since my writing skills have improved since then. Along with an epilogue after this chapter showing where everyone is at the end of the day.

Writing this story over the past year has been one of the greatest pleasures I've ever had in life. So much has happened since I released the first chapter, I even graduated from college back in May. I'm even planning another run for political office once Auburn Eyes is published.

If you wonderful folks would like to follow what I'm doing, or just see when the book is finally released. You can follow me over on Facebook at "Auburn Eyes - A DDLC Fan Novel", or you can just search for " AuburnEyesDDLC" whatever's easier.

I hope you all have enjoyed Auburn Eyes. Doki Doki Literature Club inspired me to become a writer and it changed my life for the better, and I hope that maybe my story helped inspire you a little as well.


	19. Auburn Eyes Announcement

Hello, everyone. I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and that you all have a wonderful New Year. After 20 Chapters, 402 Pages, and 84,348 words; I'm very happy to announce that Auburn Eyes has been completed and is now available! I wrote the first word of this story back on May 9, 2018 and crafting this story from start to finish has been one of the greatest pleasures I've ever had in life.

Believe it or not, but I actually started writing this story while I was still in college, and what started as a hobby quickly turned into a passion that I wish to pursue for the rest of my life.

I believe that every artist puts at least a little bit of themselves into everything that they create, and that was my philosophy when writing this story. I've struggled with depression, anxiety, and loneliness for my entire life. But I'm fortunate enough to have my grandparents in my life, who were there to help me get the professional support that I needed.

While not everyone has people like my grandparents in their lives, I believe that by making it clear to people that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we can improve the lives of those people immeasurably.

But in the end, it doesn't matter how many people that this book reaches. If this story can help even just one person feel even just a little bit better about themselves, inspire them to seek help, or motivate them to help someone else. Every moment that I've spent writing this book will have been worth it.

I hope that you've all enjoyed reading Auburn Eyes. If you'd like to get the newly revised and expanded upon story, it's available on Amazon. Just search for "Auburn Eyes", and the author's name is Cory Corson.

I'd just like to leave you all off with my best wishes, I never would have ended up where I am now if it wasn't for Doki Doki Literature Club and all the wonderful people in both that game's community, as well as the fantastic people that have read my story here. I love you all.


End file.
